Rock This Country
by Margaritaville01
Summary: Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are famous country singers. What will happen when their record company makes them team up to write a song? A #1 hit, a Grammy... or a relationship between the two?
1. You Have That Effect On Me

**Okay, so this idea has been in my head for a while. I figured I'd try it out. So here it is, my first real Fanfiction story.**

**Edward's POV**

"Ryan, I don't think you understand," I argued with my manager. "I don't just sit down and write song. I can't force that kind of thing. Songs have to come to me… naturally."

"Yeah, well, the record company says you have to write a song with her. So you know what you're gonna do?"

I sighed. "I'm going to write a song with Bella Swan."

"I always liked that about you Edward. You're smart." Ryan winked. "Oh, don't be so depressed about it, Edward. She's so talented. And hot."

Ryan picked up a remote and pressed a button. One of Bella Swan's music videos popped up on my huge flat-screen TV. She was wearing tiny jean shorts, a black tank top, a cowboy hat, and cowboy boots. Bella was known for always wearing boots, and she usually accompanied them with a hat. She was singing one of her hit songs, "Before He Cheats", fiercely and strongly.

I knew that song. I knew all the words. I had it on my iPod, along with the rest of the songs from her second album. And the first one. And the third one.

Because the truth was: I, Edward Cullen, famous country music star, was a Bella Swan fan. A huge fan. I loved her music, and her voice and everything relating to her.

I was worse than any fan girl. And now I was getting the opportunity to write a song with her. Well, really, forced, but still. I should be ecstatic, jumping off the walls. But I couldn't do it. I was… I hated to admit it, but I was nervous.

"Ryan, turn that off. You think I haven't seen her before?"

Ryan hit the button, and the video disappeared.

"You're gonna do it, right? I'm not gonna have to get into any fights with the record company for your sake, right?"

"Yes, Ryan."

"Great. Well, I'll see ya later Cullen, okay?"

"Sure."

"We'll talk about how this is gonna work out later." Ryan checked his cell phone. "Crap! I'm late! Lisa's gonna kill me! Gotta go, Eddie!"

Ryan ran through the door of my loft before I got a chance to protest the nickname.

**Bella's POV**

"Alice!" I squealed to my stylist and assistant and best friend. "Edward Cullen! I can't believe the record company wants me to write a song with him!"

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Alice asked nonchalantly, comparing two jean miniskirts. "Which one do you like better?"

I knocked the skirts out of her hand. "Alice! Forget about the skirts!"

I couldn't believe she was thinking about two skirts that were seemingly exactly the same after I'd told her all about having to write a song with country music sensation, Edward Cullen, all thanks to that stupid record company.

Alice sighed. "Edward Cullen is no big deal Bella."

"Writing a song with him is! I've never written a song with someone else. It's always been a personal process for me."

"Don't freak about that now. You don't have to write a song with him yet. First you have to meet him. But first, you have to get dressed so we can get the hell out of your closet and go already!" She picked up the skirts, holding each one against my waist. "Yeah, I like this one."

"Thank you for coming with me, Alice. I mean, Elsa told me he was bringing some dude from his band with him… Casper or something."

"His name is Jasper. Jasper Whitlock. And he's also bringing his brother, who's also in the band. Emmett."

"Great. The more the merrier, I guess, right?"

"Right." Alice paused. "Which is why I invited Rose."

"Alice!" I protested.

"What? You love Rose."

"As happy as I am that she's coming… I don't understand why you're making such a big deal out of this. I don't even know why you and Elsa had to arrange this meeting. We're going to meet at the Celebrity Telethon next week anyway!"

The Celebrity Telethon was an event that raised money for kids with cancer. It was broadcasted on television, and it worked just like any telethon. Except there would be celebrities performing. I had participated fro the last two years, and this year, so would Edward Cullen. We would meet there, backstage. But no, Elsa, my manager, had to set up a meeting for us. And worst of all, Alice had been in on it, too.

"Because you should have met him already. Now get dressed. We don't want to be late for bowling with Edward Cullen," she piped, her voice perky and chipper, as always.

I groaned and pressed a pillow that was one the couch I was sitting on to my face. And yes, I have couch in my closet.

"Another thing I don't understand. Why do we have to go bowling?"

"Because bowling is an enjoyable activity that allows for the individuals involved to bond with one another. Which is exactly what you have to do. Bond with him. Now just put the freakin' skirt on already!"

Once I was dressed in one of those miniskirts, brown leggings, brown cowboy boots, a turquoise top and a hat, Alice and I left my loft and headed to my car: a black Audi with tinted windows. Once we were in, I drove off to pick up Rosalie Hale, my other best friend, who was also a pop star whose songs were dominating the radio.

She squealed when she got in the car.

"Bella - Bon! Ohmigosh!" She leaned forward from the back seat to give me an awkward hug, seeing as I was still in the front seat.

"Hey, Alice," She said, turning to hug her.

"Hi Rosalie. What's up?"

Rose slumped back to her seat. "Boring, boring stuff," she complained. "This new song that I'm supposed to sing sucks. Like, absolutely. You're so lucky, Bella- Bon. You write your own songs. You decide what you want to sing."

"Yeah, but I don't decide who I sing with," I grumbled.

Rose squealed. "Bella, why aren't you psyched about this? Edward Cullen is really cute. He seems so sweet. And you've never done a duet before! This is totally great. Do you know how many fans he has?"

"Hey! I have fans too, you know," I giggled.

"That's not what I mean," Rose said. "I'm just sayin', this is a great opportunity for you."

"I agree with Rose," Alice nodded her head.

Rose changed the subject very abruptly. Not because she didn't like what we were discussing, but because something else came to her mind. Her attention was always easily averted.

"Why do we have to go bowling? Why can't we go to a club and dance?"

"Because," I answered sourly. "Apparently clubs don't allow for the individuals involved to bond. Besides, you know I can't dance. I don't want to make a fool of myself."

"Point taken. Anyway," Rose sighed. "We're here already."

**Okay, I hoped you like the first chapter. Please tell me what you think. Review! I just want to know that someone is actually reading my story. Thank you so much for reading this, and I will update very soon, I promise!**

**Also, I do not own Twilight or the song "Before He Cheats". **


	2. I Am Ready

_Last Chapter_

"_Why do we have to go bowling? Why can't we go to a club and dance?"_

"_Because," I answered sourly. "Apparently clubs don't allow for the individuals involved to bond. Besides, you know I can't dance. I don't want to make a fool of myself."_

"_Point taken. Anyway," Rose sighed. "We're here already."_

I pulled into a parking space in the lot. I took off my hat and pulled my hair into it, placing it back on my head. I took a huge pair of sunglasses out of my bag and slipped them on my face. I could see Rose doing the same thing with her gray fedora hat. Lucky Alice just got to slip out of the car. Alice could go anywhere she wanted without a disguise. The paparazzi wouldn't bother her.

But if that was the price of being a famous musician, I'd pay it.

I wasn't in this business for the fame, though. I was in the music business for just that: the music. My career had taken off the year I turned nineteen. One of the songs on my debut album, "Thinking of You", had been a huge hit, and just like that, I was a big deal. I was now twenty-one, and I had released my third album about five months ago.

And the song I was to write with Edward Cullen would go on my fourth.

"Okay, Bella. Ready to go?" Rose asked, adjusting her hat.

"No. Rose, wait."

"What's the problem?"

"Rosalie… I'm nervous."

"That's what this bi-polar-ness is all about? You're nervous?"

I bit my lip, nodded, and looked down.

"You, Bella Swan, country music sensation, Bella Swan, the girl every guy in the South would kill their cattle to be with, are nervous about meeting Edward Cullen?"

"Kill their cattle? Rose, what the hell?"

"You listen to me, Bella Swan. You are going to march in there with your cowboy-hat-topped-head held up high, and you are going to show Edward Cullen exactly what you are made of. Do you hear me?"

"Yes," I giggled.

"Come on, then. Alice is getting impatient." She pointed to the window, where we could see Alice motioning for us to hurry up.

"Okay," I said, stepping out of the car. "I'm ready."

Edward's POV

"Dudes," I said tapping Emmett's elbow. "There they are."

I was waiting by the entrance of the bowling alley Ryan had instructed me to go to, waiting for Bella Swan to show up with her friends, so that we could officially meet.

I was nervous as hell. Bella Swan was within hearing distance, if I raised my voice.

"How do you know it's them?" Emmett asked.

"The cowboy boots," Jasper answered for me.

"God, I'm nervous," Emmett whispered.

"You shouldn't be the nervous one," I responded. "Why are you nervous? You don't have to write a song with her."

"Not about meeting Bella! Rosalie Hale. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm about to meet Rosalie Hale."

"Shut up. You sound like a sissy now," Jasper said.

"Well, I'm nervous. I really think she's hot, guys, okay? But the chance of us ever being together is slim."

"Why? You've always been the best with girls," Jasper said.

"Yeah, but she's not just any girl. She's Rosalie Hale. And I'm Emmett Cullen, Edward's brother and drummer boy. She'll think I'm pathetic."

"Just be cool. And you know, all your girlfriends so far have been named after flowers. She would just add to the list."

"Yeah," I jumped in. "Remember Violetta?"

"Oh, and Lilly."

"Don't forget Petunia."

"Or Magnolia."

"And of course, Daisy."

"God, who could forget Daisy?"

"Guys! Stop listing my ex-girlfriends! I get it, okay?"

Emmett was fuming, and Jasper and I were cracking up.

"Guys, guys, they're coming! Act cool," Emmett said.

How could I act cool when I would be face to face with Bella Swan soon?

"Hi!" a perky voice quipped. The short, black haired girl standing next to Bella, who I knew was Bella thanks to the cowboy hat, stepped forward and extended her hand. "I'm Alice."

Jasper was the first one to respond. "I'm Jasper Whitlock, Edward's bass player."

"Yeah, and I'm Emmett, Edward's brother and drummer."

"You play the drums?" The girl in the gray hat looked up at Emmett.

"Yeah. You must be… Rosalie?"

"Yep!" Rosalie giggled.

"Hi, I'm Bella."

Bella. Oh, my, gosh. Bella was talking to me. I struggled to find my voice.

"Bella," Emmett said before I could think of something to say to her, shaking her hand before turning to me. "This is Edward."

She giggled. "Hi," she said shyly.

"Why don't we all go inside so we can take off our glasses and hats and see each other properly?" Rosalie suggested. Then I remembered I, too, was wearing a hat and glasses.

And then, I felt a jolt of confidence shoot through me. I had to say something to her. Bella Swan was standing right next to her, and I really admired her. And I was Edward Cullen. If Emmett, my drummer, could say something to make Rosalie Hale, the beautiful Rosalie Hale almost every guy in the world would die to be with giggle, then I could talk to Bella. And I would.

"Yeah, let's go in," I agreed. I turned to Bella. "And it's very nice to meet you."

Bella's POV

It was really cool in the bowling alley, all dark with neon lights everywhere.

Over each lane was a huge screen that played a music video, along with the song that went with it. Right now, a Pink song, "So What" was playing, and the video on each gargantuan screen.

We all went up to the counter with the shoe rentals and got a lane, Lane 6. We went over, and I was glad to see that the lanes next to us, Lane 5 and Lane 7 were empty, along with Lane 8. A bunch of little kids who would never recognize us were playing in Lane 4.

"Okay," I announced, satisfied. "We can take off our disguises."

I took off my glasses and hat, shaking out my hair. I looked over and saw Edward staring at me. He saw me catch him looking at me and looked away.

I blushed a deep red, but luckily it was to dark for anyone to see.

Emmett sat down at the thing with the keypad and started typing the names in.

"Okay, who wants to go first?"

"I will!" Rose announced, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Okay, and I'll go second… Okay, who wants to go third?"

"I'll go," I said.

After me, Alice would go, then Jasper, and lastly, Edward.

"Okay," Emmett announced when everything was set up. "Rosie, you're up!"

Rosalie giggled at the nickname, and got up from her seat next to me. I already knew he liked her. But who didn't like Rose? She was more beautiful than any supermodel. She seemed to be liking the attention from him. Emmett and Rose were already flirting.

"Is she any good at bowling?" Emmett asked.

"She wanted to go clubbing," I said, knowing that would answer his question.

"Seriously?" Edward said to me, chuckling. "Well, she's a blonde. It figures."

"Hey, that's a stereo-type!" I said.

"Would you be protesting if I'd said that all brunettes were beautiful?"

I felt myself turning red. Luckily, though, before I could respond, Emmett, who I already liked better than his brother, cut in. "Hey, Edward! Stop flirting with her, or I'm going to gag."

Rosalie came back to where we sat then. "Did you guys see me? I got five pins down!"

I smiled, and I knew that the rest of the night would be very interesting.

Edward's POV

I have to say, even if I thought bowling was lame, the place we went to was pretty awesome. It was light up in neon lights and had big TV screens over the lanes and good music playing. But I wouldn't have cared if I was in a garbage dump right now. I was hanging out with Bella Swan. I resisted the urge pump my fists in the air and scream.

We went to the lane, and then Bella gave me and Rosalie the okay to take off our hats. She did, too. And I saw Bella clearly, in person for the first time.

She was beautiful. I'd always known that, from seeing her in pictures and videos. But in person… she was something else.

She shook out her long, thick brown hair, and I watched, taking in her big doe-like eyes, her pretty pink lips, and her cute little nose.

She saw me looking, and I quickly turned my head.

_Nice Edward_, I scolded myself. _Way to check her out and then be caught. Real smooth. _

How did Emmett do it? He already had Rose giggling and batting her eyes and twirling her hair.

Then again, she was a blonde.

I risked another glance at Bella. She was gorgeous.

I would get to know her tonight. We would become friends. We would bowl and we would… what was the word Ryan had used? Bond. We would bond.

Bowling and bonding with Bella Swan.

Every cowboy's dream.

And I was no different.

**Author's Note- Thank you for the reviews and for making my story a favorite and all the other positive feed back I got! It was so amazing! It's so awesome, thank you so much. Also, if you have any country songs you think Bella and/or Edward should sing, tell me in a review!**

**Also, I don't own Twilight, or the song "Thinking of You." And I know that's not really a country song, but I like it and I think it works. **

**Please review!**


	3. I'm Gonna Getcha Good

"So the little boy comes up to me, and he's like, around six years old. So he goes, 'Hey, I know who you are!' And I'm all smug now, because a little kid recognizes me. So I go, 'You do?' And he said 'Of course! You're one of the guys that sings the YMCA song!'"

We all hooted with laughter at Edward's story. The first game of bowling had been quite uneventful. Each person taking their turn, Emmett flirting with Rose, and everyone else trying to make small talk. But after that, we all got talking, sharing personal stories, trying to get to know one another better. And not just me and Edward. Emmett, and Rose and Alice and Jasper, too.

"He thought you were the cowboy from the Village People? That is hysterical," Alice giggled.

"You know, Edward's not a real cowboy. We're from Washington," Emmett sneered playfully.

"Yeah," Edward admitted sheepishly. "We lived in Washington, until high school. My father, he's a doctor, and he got an offer from a hospital in Texas. We went, and that's where we met Jasper. And I discovered that I was truly a cowboy."

"A wannabe cowboy," Emmett corrected.

"I don't think it makes a difference," I said. "I'm from Arizona. And you know, Shania Twain, she's Canadian. And we all end up moving to LA, anyway."

"She is so true," Jasper drawled. He had an adorable accent. But I wasn't really focusing on Jasper.

I was focusing on Edward's laugh. It was musical and gorgeous. And it really fit him, because he was a gorgeous guy. I had tried to avoid looking into his emerald eyes, because the times I had, I had been hypnotized. His face was flawless and perfect. And his hair? So hot! It was all disheveled and it was this interesting reddish brown color.

"Where are you from, Rosalie?" Emmett asked.

"New York. I wanted to be on Broadway, but they told me I couldn't act." Rose smiled pleasantly, while the guys guffawed. "The joke is on them though," she continued. "Because now, look at me!" Rosalie smiled proudly.

"So, um, what are you guys singing for the Celebrity Telethon?" Edward asked Rose and I, seeming nervous for some reason I couldn't fathom.

"I'm thinking either _Cry for You_ or _Goodbye_, and I'm going to sing the female vocals for that Flo Rida song, _Sugar_. John Callahan, the guy in charge, told me that Flo Rida asked if I could, and it's going to be set up and everything. I actually have a rehearsal tomorrow to practice with him. I'm so excited!" Rose gushed.

"What about you, Bella?" Edward inquired.

"I am going to sing my craziest, red-neck song, the one that I wrote for fun. The lyrics express the farthest thing from my real feeling, and I absolutely love it. Can you guess?"

"_Here for the Party_," he said immediately.

"Yes! How did you guess? I love that song, it's a blast to perform."

The song was from my third and latest album, and it was always playing on the radio. It was truly surprising, coming from calm, shy me. But it allowed me to step out of my shell and be a crazy, fun-loving party girl. Sometimes, that was me, though. I did like a good party, and I liked being crazy sometimes, too. It all depended on my mood.

"What are you going to sing, Edward?" Alice asked.

"I still don't know."

"That's the best part about the Celebrity Telethon. Everything is unpremeditated and crazy. Anything goes. You don't even have to plan your song in advance or practice. You just tell John what you wanna do the day before. Only sometimes things are planned, like in Rosalie's case with Flo Rida. And it doesn't have to be a normal performance. Last year, Rose and I sang _Barracuda_ with a few other singers, and we had never even met them until the night of the show. Because there isn't a practice for everyone, if they don't set one up, like in Rose's case."

"Yeah. John called us last year and was like 'What do you think of singing a song with a few other people, an older one?' and we were so willing. He emailed us our parts and that was it. We memorized our lyrics and then the day of the show it just… came together. And we also sang our solo songs," Rose added.

"Well, I might sing _If Everyone Cared_," he said.

"Oh! Do that one! I love that song!" Alice exclaimed.

"Thanks."

"Yes, that is such a beautiful song. It's so true. I actually cried the first time I heard it," I admitted, blushing.

"I had no idea my song had that affect on others," Edward muttered. "I thought it was just me. I was really… inspired when I wrote it."

"Well, it's really good. You should sing it."

"Thank you Bella. You don't know how much your praise means to me." He looked into my eyes, and I swear I almost melted.

***

We were all talking and laughing as we made our way out of the bowling place, our hats and glasses back into place. We got to my car, and we said bye to Edward, Emmett and Jasper.

"Bye Emmett. I guess I'll see you at the Telethon, right?" Rosalie asked hopefully.

"Yup, Edward is performing, so his band is too."

"Will we see you there?" Jasper asked Alice.

"No. I'm just Bella's stylist. My work with her is done after I get her ready for her entrance. She's been trying to get me to come, but I have to work."

"Work?" Jasper raised his eyebrows. "You didn't mention having another job."

"Oh, well, yeah, I design for the clothing company Military."

"Seriously? Man, you guys make the best jeans!" Emmett said.

"Thanks. They're actually releasing a new line under Military. My line. I'm so excited! I'm calling it Tennessee Militia, and I have a lot of work to do before the release. So I'm spending most of my extra time working on that. Otherwise, I would have totally come."

"That's too bad," Jasper murmured.

"So… Bella, I guess I'll see you at the Celebrity Telethon. You, too, Rosalie."

"Bye guys," I waved. Emmett and Jasper waved and left, and Rose and Alice got in the car. But Edward lingered, looking like he had more to say.

"Um, Bella?" he said, looking down.

"Yes?"

"Do you… do you want to… go out sometime?"

"Oh. Yeah, um…" I took a deep breath, and smiled at him. "I'd really like that."

He looked up at me for the first time. "Really?"

I nodded.

He smiled. "Look, I know this seems kind of… rushed, like I'm trying to mush us together or something, or that this is kind of… forced. That I don't really feel anything for you, and I'm just doing it or the record company. But… it's not. I actually… kind of have a crush on you."

I giggled. He was so nervous! It was absolutely adorable. And he had a crush on me, and admitted it! That was beyond cute.

"I'm really glad to hear that, Edward. Give me your phone, I'll put my number in. Here," I handed him my cell, and he handed me his.

When all was said and done, we quickly bid farewell. "So, I'll see you next week, at the Telethon," he said.

"Okay. Bye Edward!"

"Bye, Bella."

And then he went to his car.

***

"I can't believe it! He asked you out!" Rose squealed.

"I know. Rose, you were so right. I shouldn't have dreaded meeting him. He was so sweet."

"I think you were more anticipating it than dreading it," Alice said.

"No, no. She was just being bipolar. She didn't know if she wanted to meet him or not. But now, Bella's in llllluuuuuvvvvv." She giggled.

"I am not in love with him, Rose. I just think he's really, really cute."

"Say what you want, Bella, but you are infatuated with Edward, and what starts out as a little crush turns into a lovey-dovey relationship that puts Romeo and Juliet to shame." She paused. "Except without the death and stuff."

"Sure, Rose." I sighed. As much as I loved Rosalie, she could be quite delusional at times. "Anyway, I'm not the only one. I saw what was going on between you and Emmett." I smirked.

"Oh guys, did you see his muscles? He is so hot."

"And he was flirting with you the whole time," Alice interjected.

"I know! He's exactly my type! He's so funny and easy going. And strong… and he likes to have fun. He isn't a bit serious. Not like his brother. He was smiling the whole time. I like guys like that. Oh, but Bella, Edward was all mysterious and quiet, and then he got friendly and talkative, and then he went back to mysterious… it was really sexy… and bipolar, just like you! You are a match made in heaven."

We were in my car, driving home. I pulled up in front of Rosalie's building she had a loft just like me. Edward did too, he'd told us today. He lived there with Emmett and Jasper.

I was happy to hear that. No one had a big mansion or whatever.

I shared my loft with Alice, who I'd been best friends with since high school. Kind of like Edward and Emmett's friendship with Jasper.

It was really great, living with your best friend/stylist/assistant. But Alice wasn't really my assistant. Elsa would tell her everything I would need to know. Like when I had photo shoots, interviews, performances, the dates and times of important events, that kind of thing. And she would make sure that I knew where to do whenever I needed to be somewhere. So, I just titled the job as "assistant", but whenever I thought of actually having an assistant, it made me feel snobby and stuck-up. But whatever. When I introduced her, I introduced her as Alice Brandon, my best friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Okay," Rose said. "This is where I get off. Bye Bella, Alice. Thanks for inviting me. I had lots of fun! Oh, and Bella, call me when Edward sends you a proposal text. Nighty night!"

I shook my head, fighting back a smile.

Rose was such a ditz.

A ditz that knew what she was talking about.

**Edward's POV**

"Rosalie was totally into me. Right Edward? You think she was into me?"

"Yeah, sure Emmett."

"No, really Edward! C'mon, ya think she liked me? Honestly."

"I honestly think she was all over you. Lucky bastard," Jasper grumbled.

What was this? Did Jasper like Rosalie, too?

"What is that supposed to mean?" Emmett thundered.

Jasper sighed. "Em, chill. I'm not after Rose."

"Oh." Emmett visibly relaxed. "So what do you mean?"

"I think Alice is really cute, okay? And she didn't even pay attention to me."

"You like the shortie?" Emmett laughed.

"Shut up! She was really pretty!" Jasper said defensively.

"Don't insult her. That's mean, Em. She was pretty cute… she reminded me of Tinkerbell," I said thoughtfully.

"Whatever. I just can't wait until me get home. We swapped numbers," Emmett announced proudly. "This'll be, like, a headline in the tabloids. 'Rosalie Hale's New Boyfriend.' Yeah." He sighed in contentment.

"Keep on dreaming, pal," Jasper said.

I didn't say anything. I wondered when I should call Bella. Before the Celebrity Telethon, I decided. Where would we go? What would we do? I didn't know, but I'd figure it out. All that mattered was that I'd talked to Bella Swan, and asked her out.

And she said yes.

**Thank you again for all the reviews and positive feedback. Also, I just wanted to point out a small mistake I made in the first two chapters. When I referred to a song title, I put it in quotations, but I found out that the correct way to do it is to make it italicized, which I will do from now on.**

**Also, I do not own Twilight or any of the songs I mentioned. Or Flo Rida. **

**Please review!**


	4. That's Life

**Thank y'all for all the reviews, and for reading my** **story! You don't know how much that means to me. So, here is the next chapter.**

Alice and I were in my closet, in front of the vanity. (And yes, I have one of those in my closet, too.) Alice was doing my hair, for my date with Edward Cullen.

"Oh, Bella, you must be so excited!" she squealed. "You and Edward are going on a date!"

Edward had called yesterday and asked me if I wanted to go to dinner with him. I'd told him that that was just asking for attention from the media, and he'd agreed that we didn't want that. So I suggested we go get a cup of coffee from Starbucks and take a walk. He'd instantly agreed.

Alice was getting me ready. I thought I looked good, perfectly dressed for a casual little date like this. I was wearing a brown Hollister t-shirt, dark skinny jeans, and -gasp!- I'd actually ditched my cowboy boots and had opted for a pair of chocolate brown Uggs, into which I'd tucked my jeans. Alice was putting the finishing touches on my hair, making sure it was bouncy and volumized- and that it would stay that way.

"All done!" Alice declared. "And you look awesome, if I do say so myself."

"Thank you, Alice." I gave my best friend a hug, and we headed to the living room to wait for Edward to come pick me up.

"So," Alice began. "I wanted to talk to you."

"I'm all ears."

"Okay, well, it's about Tennessee Militia."

I smiled at the name of Alice's new clothing brand. I was so proud of her for achieving this, her dream. Military, the company she worked for, had been planning on releasing a new line, under Military for quite a while, but they'd been searching to find the right designer, with the best designs, to be in charge of it, to have their designs be made under a new name. And they'd chosen Alice.

Tennessee Militia would be kind of like… that store, Claire's Icing, and then the regular Claire's. Military was like the regular Claire's, and Tennessee Militia would be like the Claire's Icing.

Alice was thrilled, but it also meant a lot of work. I wondered why she wanted to talk to me about it.

"Okay, well," she continued, interrupting me from my mental babble, "I was thinking about this idea. I was thinking… we could have a famous spokesmodel."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, like, to have a famous person in the ads and stuff. In addition to the regular models." She looked at me with her big puppy dog eyes. "Will you be Tennessee Militia's spokesmodel?"

"Alice, I'd be honored! No one's ever asked me to model clothes before… well, I was in a Got Milk? ad, and I did pose for Candie's… but nothing like this, ever! I will definitely do it!" I paused. "As long as I don't have to pose in a swimsuit."

Alice laughed. "But Bella, you have a great bikini body. _Us _magazine said so, and everyone agrees. You looked amazing in that yellow bikini you wore for that music video…"

"Sure Alice. But I'm not doing that again. Besides, my boobs aren't big enough for that anyway."

"Whatever you say Bella. Oh, Edward's here."

"How do you kno-"

Just then, the little white intercom box by the door rang, and one of the doormen's voices came out. "Miss Swan, Mr. Edward Cullen is here for you."

My eyes widened, and I ran over to the intercom box and pressed the button before I spoke. "Um, thank you. Tell him I'll be right down."

I turned to Alice. "Good luck, Bella. Have fun." She gave me a hug.

"Thanks Alice. Thanks for making me look nice." I grabbed my purse. "Bye!" I waved over my shoulder and walked out, and headed to the elevator.

**Edward's POV**

I was in the lobby of Bella's building, waiting for her to come down. I'd called her yesterday, two days after we'd all gone bowling, to ask her out. I'd asked her to go to dinner. She'd said she'd rather to go to Starbucks and take a walk, to avoid attention, which was perfectly fine with me.

Emmett had been talking nonstop about Rosalie, who he'd constantly been texting. They'd met in some park yesterday to walk her Yorkshire terrier, Bambii, and he'd asked her out. They were going to a club in two days. He'd asked if I wanted to come with Bella, so I'd ask her today.

I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be. But we had been texting, (not as obsessively as Emmett and Rosalie) and our phone call yesterday had been really pleasant. I figured that our date would be fun, relaxed, just me and Bella, being ourselves…

Holy crap, she just stepped out of the elevator. She looked beautiful. She smiled, and I went over to where she was.

"Hi Bella. It's great to see you again." What the hell? _It's great to see you again_? How lame!

Thankfully, she didn't think so. "Hi Edward! What's up?"

"The usual. Should we go now?" I answered. Ugh. God, hopefully I'd eventually get less awkward around Bella.

"Yes, let's go."

We went outside, where my car was parked. "You have a Volvo? It's so nice."

"You like cars?" I asked her as I unlocked the doors.

"No- but Rose does. You wouldn't expect that, though. I just like cars that can get me to where I want to go. But I like pretty cars…"

I opened the door for her. "Oh, thanks," she said, sliding in. I went around and got in the driver's seat.

"You have an Audi, right?" I asked, hoping to keep up the conversation.

"Yep. Alice persuaded me to get that and not some piece of crap car."

"That's a good thing."

"Edward, shut up and drive." I gaped at her for a second, and then we both burst into laughter.

***

After we'd gone to Starbucks and gotten our lattes, we parked the car and started walking around, talking.

"So when I was a junior I moved to Washington. But I guess you were in Texas then, right?"

"Yup. What part of Washington?" We'd been telling each other our life stories, and, as boring as it sounds, it was pretty interesting.

"Oh, you wouldn't know it. It was this really small town… called Forks."

"No. Freaking. Way," I said in shock.

"What?"

"That's where I lived!" I exclaimed.

"No way! Did you know my dad?"

" I dunno. Who's your dad?"

"The police chief! Charlie Swan!" she shrieked.

"He's your dad? Woah." I blinked, very surprised. "So, uh, I take it Swan isn't a stage name?"

She shoved me playfully. I was glad that we were comfortable enough around each other that we could clown around.

"Emmett is never going to believe this. Oh my gosh. Hey," I thought of something all of a sudden. "What about Alice? Didn't you say you guys went to high school together?"

"We did. I lived in Phoenix till I was a junior, and so did Alice. When I left for Forks, so did Alice."

"Her parents let her?" This conversation was full of surprises.

Bella lowered her voice. "Well, Alice's mom and dad weren't much of a mom and dad. They didn't like her much."

"That's it? They just didn't… like her?" I had to admit, I was a bit angry. What kind of parents didn't like their own kid?

"I know. It was horrible. I mean, they didn't beat her or whatever, but they really couldn't care less about what she did. It was all right with my dad so…" Bella trailed off, seeming distant. "Alice didn't really have anyone else. She kind of kept to herself, because she thought, if her own parents didn't care about her, why should anyone else? But I found her. I love her. She's my sister."

"Wow. That is very sad. But it's good that you found her."

"I know. And she's so amazing. She's the perkiest, happiest person I know. You wouldn't think she would be though, but… I think I had an effect on her. We've been friends since we were freshmen. I think I helped her pull through it. She just pretended they didn't exist. She couldn't care less about them after a while, just like they didn't care about her. Alice is truly over it. She got over it when we became best friends. She started talking to more people, making friends, and she became this little ball of energy. It was amazing. But she still came with me, because we thought we would die without each other. And she used her uncaring parents to her advantage. They just let her go. It all worked out for the best though." Bella sighed, and then she looked up at me worriedly. She had huge sunglasses on, but she'd forgotten a hat. I hadn't believed it, or that she wasn't wearing her cowboy boots either. I'd put my hat on her head just before we'd walked into Starbucks, because I had an extra. She looked adorable in my hat. "Don't tell her I told you anything, though."

"Don't worry Bella. My lips are sealed."

We continued walking and talking about ourselves, discussing songs, and how we got inspiration. All the while, I couldn't help but notice the close proximity of our bodies, but I managed to focus on our conversation.

"So, what do you think our song should be about?" she asked. I surprised her by taking her hand. I couldn't help it. I knew that this was the first date, and that I'd only met her once before… but I felt this odd connection between me and Bella. I couldn't help it.

But Bella didn't object. She let her hand ease into mine. I felt extremely happy, and I felt my mouth turn up into this giant moronic smile. I was just about to answer her question when I heard them.

"Bella! Does this mean you and Edward Cullen are dating?"

"Edward, Bella! Have you been secretly dating for a while?"

"Guys, over here!"

"Smile for the camera!"

We were being blinded by flashes and we knew what that meant.

"Shit! It's the paparazzi!"


	5. Up!

"This couldn't get any worse," I moaned, grabbing a pillow off the couch and pressing it to my face (something I often did when I was stressed).

"Oh, Bella- Bon," Rosalie sighed. "It could be waaay worse, trust me."

"What could be worse than having my life plastered all over the tabloids? Hello! It's a total invasion of my privacy," I grumbled.

"Yeah, well," Alice began, coming in from our kitchen with three bottles of lemonade, handing one each to me and Rose. "That's what happens when you become famous. Nothing's a secret anymore."

"I just wanted to keep this one thing to myself for a while, but nooo. The stupid paparazzi had to come. And what's worse is that we didn't even get to finish our date. And what's even worse is that we're not even really going out, but the magazines are claiming that! And now we're going to the Celebrity Telethon in a few days, and everyone's gonna be asking us if we're really dating. Oh, God!"

"What's the problem? Just tell them that you are dating," Rose shrugged.

"But it's not true!" I exploded.

"Well," Alice said, sitting down next to me on the couch. "You were holding hands, and you were wearing his hat. I think that pretty much makes it official. You're dating."

"God, I've only been with the guy twice! Don't you think that's kind of fast? We haven't even been on a real date. And if it weren't for the record company, I never would have gone out with him! I wouldn't have even met him yet!" I almost screamed.

"Oh, Bella- Bon, calm down. Here," she handed me Bambii, her adorable Yorkshire terrier. Holding her always helped me relax. "Besides, me and Alice would have made sure you two hit it off at the Telethon. We know how long it's been since you've had a boyfriend."

"Guys, why are you so dead set about us getting together?"

"Because, he's all you talk about! It's like you're a ten-year-old girl and he's Zac Efron! And you're both country singers. There aren't many of you, at least our age," Alice pointed out. "You have that much in common. And you think he's hot. _And_ he's interested in you. _And_ the last time you had a real boyfriend was in high school!"

"I forgot again, who was the one she liked, and who was the gross one?" Rose asked Alice. I grimaced. I did not want to talk about Maksim the Moron or Jeff the Jerk.

In high school in Forks, I'd had my first boyfriend, Maksim. I thought I loved him. Everything was going great. He was hot, and sweet, and funny. Though we had our disagreements, everything seemed awesome. The day I was going to confess my "love" for him was the day he dumped me, saying that he needed a fresh start, and he left for Germany or one of those countries in Europe. I'd been heartbroken, and on top of that, I'd believed that I'd been the reason the dude had left North America. Thank God Alice had been there. To help me mend my heart, I started going out with a guy named Jeff, but he didn't make me as happy as Maks had, and actually made me miss him more. So I dumped him.

And that had been my inspiration for _Thinking of You_, the song that made me famous. So I sort of had Jeff and Maks to thank for my fame.

But as I got older, I realized that I truly hadn't loved Maks. It had been an infatuation, and I had been young and naïve. I was totally over it.

Alice and Rose had been bugging me about getting a boyfriend, but I didn't need one. However, now I wanted one.

I wanted Edward. But I just wasn't ready for the whole world to know. I wanted to take this one step at a time.

But now the headlines on the tabloids read _Bella_ _and Edward's Secret Dates!_ and had articles that contained pictures of our Starbucks date, and our bowling alley meeting thing. I'd been shocked when I saw those pictures—I guess someone saw us at the bowling alley, took pictures with their camera, and sold it to _Zone Weekly, _my favorite magazine besides_ Us._

"Really, Bella, the article isn't that bad," Rose said, pulling me from my reverie. "Here, read it."

I took the copy of _Zone_ and did what I was told.

"_Country musicians Edward Cullen and Bella Swan, have been seen spending some time together. The two were first spotted together on June 18 at Strike Bowling Alley in LA, along with pop sensation Rosalie Hale, and three other friends. "They looked very happy and they were all laughing. They looked very comfortable around each other," says a witness. _

_Bella, 22, and Edward, 23, were also spotted taking a walk along a side street on June 20, holding hands, and Bella was wearing Edward's famous hat with his last name stitched on the back. The two looked very cozy. So does this mean the country musicians have been dating on the DL?_

_A source close to Edward says that "they are not dating, simply getting to know each other. There is no relationship currently between Bella and Edward other than friendship."_

_Adds another source: "They aren't dating right now. They aren't a couple, but it could happen. They might get together, they might not, but I don't see how it's anyone's business. They're just two stars hanging out. Nothing spectacular there." _

_So does that mean they could be a couple in the future? Only time will tell."_

"Well," I said, looking up. "It wasn't a very long article." I looked at the pictures on the page. One was of me and Edward holding hands walking down a quiet street, and the other was of us at the bowling alley, sitting next to each other and laughing.

"See? Told ya!" Alice piped, taking a sip of lemonade.

"But it still doesn't change the fact that the whole world thinks I'm dating someone I'm not."

"Yet," Rose smiled mischievously.

"Do you know that my mom called me this morning from Florida to ask me if I really was dating Edward? Seriously!" I buried my face in Bambii's fur.

"Bella, you need to get your mind off of this," Alice said. "Rose, why don't you tell us all about your date to the park with Emmett?"

"Gladly!" Rose squealed. "Okay, so we went, and we were just talking, and laughing so much. He _loved_ Bambii, and Bambii loved him. And Bambii has good taste, don't you, girl," Rose cooed to the puppy still in my arms. "Oh, and he asked me to go dancing with him tonight. I agreed. If all goes well, which I'm _sure_ it will, he'll officially be my new boyfriend." Rose squealed again.

"That's great Rose," I sighed. "But it isn't helping."

"Oooohhhhh! Let's talk about what you guys are going to wear to the Telethon. I don't mean your performance costumes, I mean what you're going to wear when you enter," Alice suggested.

"You mean our red carpet outfits? Well, I've narrowed it down to two. One is neon pink, and the other is like, this bronze gold. I have accessories and the perfect shoes for each. What do you think?" Rose asked.

"Definitely go with the neon pink. Neon is in, trust me," Alice assured Rose. Rose was good at fashion. She put her outfits together by herself. But when she needed an opinion, Alice was the first person she turned to.

"What about you, Bella?" Rose asked.

"Alice found me this awesome red dress. I think I'm gonna pair it with a brown hat and boots, and these long beaded necklaces."

"Yeah, we tried it, it was great," Alice added.

"Oh, Alice, do you think Edward likes red?"

"Let's hope so Rose." They burst out in giggles.

I smacked the back of their heads. "Oww," they complained, rubbing their scalps.

"That's what you get," I called over my shoulder as I made my way over to the kitchen counter to answer my ringing cell phone.

"Hello?" I greeted, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Bella!" a familiar velvet voice spoke my name.

"Oh, hi Edward." I said it nonchalantly, but I turned so I was facing Alice and Rose, who were instantly paying attention, and fanned myself with the hand that wasn't gripping the cell phone.

"Bella, I saw the articles. I'm so sorry."

"Why? It's not your fault the paparazzi had to come ruin our date." Rose and Alice were smiling hugely at me, trying to contain their squeals.

"Yes, but it's my fault they think we're… dating. I was the one who took your hand."

"But I was the one who didn't protest. Edward, I didn't let go for a reason." I went to my bedroom so that I could have some privacy. Rose and Alice understood, and they respected what I wanted. I sank into my soft bed.

"I'm sorry for any inconvenience this caused you, Bella."

"Naw. Don't be. The worst that happened was my mom calling me to ask if it was true." I laughed.

"Mine, too! But listen, Bella. I know we don't really know each other well, I want to get to know you. I've always been a fan." He only sounded a little nervous.

"Me, too, Edward. I've always wished I could meet you to see if you're as amazing as I thought you were, and I was right. And don't tell Emmett, but it seems that my sister-from-another-mister and your brother are getting along, too. She says that tonight, he'll officially be her boyfriend."

"I won't tell. And my brother-from-another-mother Jasper likes Alice."

"You're kidding!" I laughed.

"Nope. Yesterday he went shopping and bought a whole bunch of stuff from Military to impress her. He really wants to see her again. Emmett invited us to go dancing with him and Rose… maybe you can bring Alice and I'll bring Jasper… that is, if you'd like." He tacked the last part on at the end.

"Not tonight. I think we should definitely go, all of us, but not tonight. I want to let Rose just be alone with Emmett, because she's really excited. But how about a couple days after the Telethon. We'll all go, the six of us."

"That sounds great. And I also wanted to ask if you and Rosalie would like a ride to the Celebrity Telethon meeting today."

"Is Emmett coming?"

"Yes."

"Then Rose will be thrilled. Rose is actually here right now, but she needs to go back to her loft to drop off her dog. So come pick me up first, then I'll show you where her loft is."

"Actually, Emmett already has her address, but we'll pick you up first anyway." I could almost hear the smile in his voice. I felt a smile growing on my face, too.

"Sure. I'll see you then, Edward."

"Okay. Bye Bella."

"Bye Edward."

_Click. _

"Rose! Edward's gonna pick us up for the meeting later," I called, jogging into the living room.

"Is his hunky brother coming?"

"Of course."

Rose's eyes widened with excitement. "Yes! I get to see him again before our date tonight. How awesome is that?" She punched the air.

The day before the Celebrity Telethon was when all the performers would head to the auditorium/theater we'd be performing at, and we would find out the schedule. You know, the order of the performances. The acts that included back-up dancers would do a quick run through of their performance. And the people performing in the big group number would be told where to stand, and where to go if we would be moving around. But it was a tradition that the first time we performed it would be at the actual Telethon. The same went with almost all the other performances.

"I better go drop Bambii off at the loft, and then get to ready to see him for the first time today. Bye, Bella- Bon! See you later. Bye, Alice!"

"Well, you have an hour and a half. Let's make you look your best for your prospective boyfriend, shall we?" Alice suggested after Rosalie had left, waggling her eyebrows.

For once I didn't protest.

***

An hour and a half later, Rose and I were riding in the back seat of Emmett's huge white jeep on our way to the meeting. Jasper was sitting in the back with us, Emmett was driving, and Edward was in the passenger seat. He looked really hot in his jeans and his Aerosmith t-shirt. His hair was in a casual disarray. It looked like he just rolled out of bed this morning. It was hot.

Alice had dressed me in my usual skinny jeans and cowboy boots, and she'd done my hair in a loose French braid. I felt very cowgirl-ish.

"So, are, you guys excited for your first time at the Celebrity Telethon?" Rose asked the guys.

"Yeah. I heard it was a real fun experience. And it's for a good cause," Jasper said.

"We raised $20 million last year. This year, the goal is $22 million," I announced. "Rose raised $210,000 last year, for her performances only."

"Really?" Emmett smiled. "That's great! How did you do it?"

"I wore a really slutty outfit," Rose said proudly. "The guys watching loved that."

The guys seemed like they were in shock that Rosalie had said such a thing. But c'mon, they knew it was the truth.

"How much did you raise, Bella?" Edward finally asked.

"$180,000." I answered.

"Wow. That's a lot, too. Did you also dress like a slut?" Emmett asked.

"You watched it, didn't you?" I giggled. "Yes, I bared a lot of skin. But it wasn't that bad. For the past two years I've been wearing tank tops and daisy dukes to the Telethon. I guess the way you dress can have a lot of affects on the people watching."

"What are you guys singing?" Jasper wondered.

"I'm singing _Goodbye_. That's my favorite song that I've done. And I'm singing _Sugar _with Flo Rida. The girl who usually sings the female vocals couldn't make it, so I'm doing it. How cool is that?"

"So cool! I love Flo Rida," Emmett exclaimed. "Why did they pick you?"

I cut in before Rose could answer. "Because Rose always brings in the biggest donations with just one performance. Think about how much we'll make with two Rosalie Hale performances. It makes sense."

"That too… but Flo Rida also thought it would sound good if I sang it. I had a practice with him the day after we went bowling. It was awesome," Rose gushed. "I'm sure we'll get serious donations. I can't wait to see how much we raise for the kids with cancer."

A little while later, we were at the theater. We entered the big auditorium, and everyone was gathering in the front rows of seats.

"Oh, hey, there's Shaun and Dusty," Jasper told Edward and Emmett, pointing to two guys, one with blond hair, the other with light brown. I guessed they were guys in Edward's band.

Emmett cupped his hands around his mouth. "Yo, Shaun, Dusty!" His words echoed through the noisy auditorium, and I was surprised. The boy was really loud.

Shaun and Dusty turned to look at Emmett along with almost everyone else in the room. I felt my cheeks turn red.

"Shaun, Dusty, these are my home girls, Bella and Rosalie," Emmett announced to the guys when they came over to where we were standing. The auditorium was buzzing with chatter. I wondered when the meeting would begin. Where was John Callahan, the guy in charge? I saw him standing by the edge of the stage, talking to someone who looked important.

"Hey, Rosalie Hale and Bella Swan? No freakin' way! I didn't believe them when they said they knew you guys. My apologies!" The blond one shook our hands. "I'm Shaun, and this is Dusty." Shaun reminded me of a hyper puppy. Kind of like Alice.

"Hey, guys. Nice to meet you," I smiled. "We should go to the front. The meeting's gonna start soon, and I gotta find my girls… and guys."

"Who?" Edward said curiously.

"My band, silly! I have one too, you know."

"Oh, I saw your band before. I got…" Shaun looked at his hand. "Two of their numbers. Amy and Megan. They were with another other girl and two dudes. They said they were in your band. Dusty got the other girl's number." Dusty smiled at me like a little boy who got caught taking the last cookie.

"Her name was Calle, right? And the guys were Jacko and Steve."

"Yep. Oh, there they are. Let's go."

After greeting my band, Rose found her back-up singers/dancers. Then John made an announcement for everyone to take a seat."

"Hello everybody. I just want to start off saying thank you to all of you for participating. You are all helping to make a difference. Now, for those of you that are new to this, I'm going to explain to you how this works. As you all know, none of you get paid. That's the first thing we all need to be clear on. That's the un-fun part." John smiled.

"Now, tomorrow your limos are going to pull up where the red carpet starts. Just like any event. You are going to get out, pose for all the cameras, and do your thing. Before you enter the theater building, you might be interviewed. This is just like the Grammys or the Golden Globes, just not as formal. And you guys aren't getting any awards, other than the pride and feeling of doing a good deed. The whole entrance thing is going to be broadcasted live, on television. Once you get in, you won't come in here like you did today. The audience will be here. There will be assistants showing you to your dressing room. You will be dressed up, and your make up will be put on, and the hair… blah, blah, blah.

"Bands and back-up dancers, you guys come through a secret back entrance. No offense, but nobody cares about you." Everyone, including the bands and back-up dancers laughed.

"You can hang out in the dressing room, but it's not very fun. There is a room backstage, and it will have drinks and food, and couches, and lots of TV screens, showing you what's going on on stage. You can hang out, yak, whatever. Assistants will come in and tell you when it's time for you to go. They'll tell you when to enter, and where. The rest is all up to you. Plan it out with your band, or if you don't have a band, you're singing pop or rap and your music is being played, TELL THE ASSISSTANT what you want to happen. For example, you want to dance in, tell the assistant, 'I want my music played now so I can dance in,' the assistant will tell the guys in the music room, your music will start, and you start performing. If you have back-up dancers, plan out what you're doing with them. This is all up to you. This is all so spontaneous.

"Viewers will call in to donate money, and donations will also be made through the Internet. There is a big screen on the stage—when someone is performing, it will show pretty colors and shapes and stuff. But in between acts, there will be a meter showing how much we've earned. Everyone keeping up so far?"

Everyone murmured their yeses.

"All right, so now I want everyone to come up and tell me what song they're doing. One representative from each act, please. I don't need all of Fall Out Boy to come up here."

I nodded to Jacko, Amy, Steve, Calle and Megan and went up. I stood in line and waited for the people in front of me to tell John and his assistants what song they wanted to do. Edward stood behind me, and Rose in front of me.

"This sounds really fun. The whole Telethon thing," he commented.

"It is," I agreed. "This is where Rose and I met three years ago. We've been best friends ever since."

I looked into his emerald eyes. Big mistake. I was drowned in them, lost in the beautiful greenness that was his eyes…

"Bella, Rose! It's great to see you again!"

I spun around. John was smiling at me and Rose.

"Hey, John," we said together.

"So, what songs are you two going to sing, eh?"

"I'm singing _Goodbye_. I have it all practiced with my back-up girls. And you know I'm singing _Sugar_."

"Yeah, you were awesome at the practice with Flo Rida! You are going to rock the house."

John was in his mid-thirties, and he was really nice. He had been putting together tours or me ever since I became famous. That was his job. He scheduled tours and special events, like the Celebrity Telethon.

"What about you, Bella?"

"Um, _Here for the Party_," I answered.

"Great," he smiled. One of his assistants wrote down our song choices.

"So, Bella." He looked over my shoulder to look at Edward behind me, who was talking to some guy. "That's your boyfriend? I've worked with him a couple of times. Your agent called me and told me you were writing a song with him, and that you guys would probably be touring together after your fourth album is released."

"Oh gosh, seriously? I haven't even started working on my next album. And now we're already planning a tour. Wonderful! Besides, he's not by boyfriend!'

John looked at me skeptically. He raised his eyebrows. "Yo, Bella's boyfriend!" he called. Edward looked up.

John gave me a satisfied grin. "Hey, Edward."

"Yeah?" Edward came over to where we were. Lovely.

"I hear you're dating Bella here."

"Well, um, not… exactly. Kind of, I guess…"

John raised his eyebrows. "Hey, either you're dating or you're not."

Rosalie cut in. "John, give them a break. They don't know each other well enough yet. But they definitely will get together soon. Look at them. It's cowboy love!"

"Why is everyone trying to rush us?" I pouted.

"Because you guys would make a really hot couple. Like, the next Faith Hill and Tim McGraw," John said.

I rolled my eyes.

People had way too overactive imaginations.

***

After the meeting was over, and we'd found out when we'd be performing, we headed home. Rose showed Emmett where her loft was, and told him to drop her off there, and then come pick her up later for their dancing date. Then we pulled up in front of my building.

Quite a few people had asked me and Edward if we were really going out at the meeting, to which we'd answered "Mind your own business!"

"Thank you, guys. I'll see you tomorrow," I waved to the boys.

"Let me walk you to your loft," Edward suggested. My face burned.

"Um, uh, er, okay?" I got out of the truck. "Bye, Emmett, Jasper."

"Bye Bella!" Emmett shouted.

"Bye. Oh, and tell Alice we say hi", Jasper added. I smiled to myself.

"Will do. See ya."

Edward didn't take my hand, but he walked close to me. I got to the elevator.

"Well, Edward, thank you. I'll see tomorrow."

"Okay, bye." He was about to turn to go, but then he changed his mind. He looked into my eyes for a heart stopping moment, and then he kissed my cheek tenderly. "Bye Bella," he whispered.

"Bye," I said breathlessly. He smiled his beautiful crooked smile, and then he left.

God, I couldn't wait to tell Alice.

**So, the next chapter will be the Celebrity Telethon. Also, this is my longest chapter so far. And I'd really appreciate reviews. Thank you! **

**Just in case you're really slow, all the chapters in this story are titles of songs. Songs and artists are on my profile. Also, the songs that Bella, Edward and Rose sing are real songs. I'll be putting those on my profile, too. **

**ALSO, please check out the Twilight Musical! It's one of my stories, and it's a funny spoof with musical numbers. Thanks again!**


	6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

**Sorry I haven't updated for a while, but I was really busy. But anyway, here is the next chapter! **

Today was the day of the Celebrity Telethon, and I couldn't wait. This would be my third time performing at the Telethon, and this year I wanted to top what I'd done last year.

I was in my sweats at the loft, and Alice was doing my make-up. I was extremely bored. I found myself thinking about Edward.

Okay, so we really weren't together. Hell, I'd only been with him a grand total of three times. But I felt this connection with him. Maybe it was because I'd fantasized about him so much, because I admired him so much, and because every time I saw a picture of him I would obsess about how hot he was. Or maybe because the few times we had been together, we'd really clicked.

Well, I'd always had a crush on Edward, though I'd never thought I would have the opportunity to actually be with him. But I still didn't want to rush anything. I barely knew him. One thing was for sure, though: he was hot!

Still, I didn't like the claims that said we were an item. We were on our way to that, I think. He had held my hand, and kissed my cheek! We were on our way to being a couple, right? Why couldn't we just date and get to know each other before we officially became a couple? Things were really rushed between us.

Not that I was complaining. The truth is, when the record company told me I had to write a song with Edward Cullen, I was really nervous and scared. Not because I would have to share a "personal process" with him, as I'd told Alice. I was really nervous that I'd screw up the chances of making my fantasy come true: being the girlfriend of one of the hottest musicians ever.

I would dream of it: we would pose on the red carpet together, and be photographed by nosy paparazzi (Hey! One of my fantasies _already_ came true!), and do interviews, and, my all-time dream: going to the Grammys with Edward Cullen. And this was before I met him. So I really didn't mind the fact that we'd only seen each other three times and he'd already kissed my cheek.

I felt like we belonged together, Edward and I. We were both young country stars, and we wrote our own songs, and he wasn't stuck up or a diva. He was down to earth. You don't know how rare that was for a celebrity. Trust me, it is.

My ringing cell phone brought me out of my reverie.

Alice, who didn't want me to mess up my make-up, picked it up and put it on speaker. "It's your mom," she whispered, then resumed with my eye shadow.

"Hey, mom!" I said.

"Hey baby. I figured I'd call before you're up on stage raising money. I'm so proud of you for that! But anyway, I will be watching!" Mom was always very energetic.

"Yeah, and you better call in and donate money for the kids with cancer!" I said in an _if-you-don't-you'll-be- in-trouble _tone.

"Oh, you bet I will! And not just for your performances, but for Rose and that yummy boyfriend of yours."

Alice cackled.

"Mom, please don't call him yummy! And he's not my boyfriend."

"Yes he is, Renee," Alice said.

"Oh, Alice, sweetie! Am I on speaker?"

"Yup! And they are totally a couple. Edward kissed her cheek the other day!" Alice squealed.

"Really? Well, just be safe, sweetie," Renee laughed.

"Oh. My. God! For the last time, he is not my boyfriend! Well, at least not yet. But I hope that after I get to know him a little better, he'll prove himself worthy of me."

"That's my girl. That's how I raised you." Renee seemed happy that I was actually following the advice she'd been giving me since I was five: _Always make sure a man proves that he's good enough for you before you start something you won't want to finish. _

"Well, mom, it was great talking to you, but I got to get ready. I'll call you tomorrow. And don't forget to donate tonight!"

"Sure thing, Bella. Bye Alice! I'll talk to you soon, sweetie pies!"

"Bye," Alice and I chorused. Alice had become like a daughter to both Renee and Charlie. After all, she had always been at my place more than she'd been at hers when she met me. And we'd _lived_ with Charlie. Besides, it was hard to not love Alice.

I sighed, and my thoughts steered towards my Celebrity Telethon preparations.

Last night, I'd taken a shower and removed all the unnecessary hair from my body. Before I'd gone to bed last night, I'd put Vaseline all over my lips, and lotion all over my body. I wanted my skin and lips to be smooth and soft.

And, for the past month, Rosalie and I had been cutting back on what little junk food we ate, and going to the gym a lot more often to get our legs toned. And a couple of days ago, I'd gotten a spray tan. I was naturally very pale, and I didn't mind, but Alice had insisted. I actually had been petrified I'd look like a carrot, but I have to admit, it looked pretty good.

Usually, I wasn't at all obsessed with my looks. I left Alice in charge of that. But today, it was different. Today, I would be performing live in front of an audience, and it would be broadcasted on TV. Not only that, but my performance would help little kids with cancer. I wanted to look my best, because guys loved watching a pretty girl dance across the stage and sing, especially when that girl was wearing short shorts and a cleavage bearing tank-top.

And, deep down, I knew there was another reason I wanted to look nice. Edward was going to be there, and though I hated to admit it, I wanted to impress him. I mean, it seemed that he liked me. So I wanted to do something to prove that he _should_ like me. Seriously, he had been ranked the Third Hottest Man in the America by Zone magazine (I personally thought he should have been first), and me? I'd ranked twenty-first! Not that I'd even been expecting to even make the list. I had been super surprised when I _was_ on the list, and really honored. Naturally, Rosalie was first, and then a bunch of really pretty girls, and then me. So why should Edward want me when there were so many other hot girls out there?

Although I found it utterly stupid to get worked up about looks for a guy, I knew it would give me a boost of confidence. Surprisingly, I'd been pretty confident all the times I'd been with him. I'd managed to form coherent sentences, at least.

Yeah. That was confident for me.

"Bella, your make-up is done, and perfect, thank you very much," Alice announced. "And your hair is amazing. Take a look."

I turned to see my reflection in the mirror. "Alice, you are a genius! I look great!"

"Everyone looks great once_ I'm_ through with them. But you are my favorite canvas, Bella." Alice flashed her teeth. "Now let's get your outfit on, and then the limo will pick you up."

I put on my dress, which was red and came to about my mid-thighs. It was strapless, and very cute. Alice had paired it with long beaded necklaces, brown, with matching brown cowboy boots and a hat. I almost always wore cowboy boots. I felt sort of safe in them. It was kind of my thing, everyone knew it.

Elsa, my manager, called to make sure I was ready, and told me that the limo would be pulling up in a half hour, which I already knew, thanks to Alice.

Everything was in place, and I had a few minutes to spare. I updated my blog on muZic, telling fans to watch the Celebrity Telethon, and to donate, and practiced _Here for the Party_, a song from my third album. I smiled, thinking about how Edward didn't have a third album—apparently, he was still working on it—but Rosalie and I did. She was also singing a song from her third album. _Goodbye_ was one of the most popular songs in America right now, and _Cry for You_ was another one that was always on the radio. She had been debating over which one she wanted to sing, until she chose _Goodbye_.

I logged off muZic, a site that musicians could have blogs on. And the best part was that there were on phonies— made you go to their office to sign up, and did an official photo shoot. It was really fun. You had an official profile, with pictures of you, and you could have favorite musicians who also had muZics—it was a good way to let the public know who your friends were—and you updated your blog with new whenever you wanted to share something, or if you were just hanging out and wanted to give your fans a message.

All the "cool" musicians had a muZic profile. I giggled. I was cool.

"Bella! Your limo's here!" Alice told me, just before the intercom box by the door buzzed, and a doorman's voice said "Miss Swan, your limo has arrived."

I went over to the box, and pressed the button. "Yes, thank you, I'll be right down." I was always a little fazed whenever Alice predicted something would happen just moments before it did. Alice had… premonitions. She didn't really see the future, she just got feelings. It was freaky, but that was Alice.

I stood in the doorway. "Are you sure you can't come and hang backstage?" I asked.

But Alice was already turning on her laptop. She was always on it, doing work for Tennessee Militia. Or she'd be designing in her sketch pad, like she had been last night when I'd burst through the door to tell her about how Edward had kissed me, how he'd pressed his warm, soft lips to my cheek…

Well, I hadn't gone into detail with her. But the point was, Alice was always working. I'd have to make sure she got a break sometime.

"No, I would love to, but I can't."

"Alice, you better not be turning into a workaholic."

Alice laughed. "That will never happen, I promise. Say hi to Rosalie, and the boys, okay?"

"Okay, Alice. Bye!" I blew my best friend a kiss and left to raise money for a good cause.

Oh yeah, and have a blast with my friends and my possible future boyfriend.

**Edward's POV**

My manager Ryan was coming over today with his girlfriend Lisa to get me ready for the Celebrity Telethon.

I had protested. What was I, a girl? I couldn't care less about my outfit. I wasn't even going to perform in it. I would change once I got in to the dressing rooms. The people would give me an outfit, picked out by a stylist, and all that bull crap. But Ryan insisted that Lisa had to come and find me something to wear for "my grand entrance".

I really didn't have much of a fashion sense. C'mon, what straight guy did? All we knew how to do was throw on jeans and a t-shirt. Oh yeah, and sometimes I put on basketball shorts.

So I agreed, because I didn't know what to wear for this thing. I usually knew what to wear, depending on how formal the event was. But this time, I couldn't wear a tux, it would be too formal. _Way_ too formal. And I couldn't put on jeans and an Aerosmith t-shirt for an event like this.

I mean, I could always put on some nicer jeans and a button-up shirt, like my mother always said I should wear for semi-formal events like this, but Ryan told me that was too boring.

And also, I wanted to look nice for Bella.

I couldn't wait to see her again. It was weird. I mean, I'd always admired her, and hoped that one day, we could be friends or... something more. But now, I felt like I really knew her, even if we'd only gone on one date. We'd talked a lot, and she was so amazing. Hey, Romeo fell in love with Juliet after speaking fourteen lines with her. I felt a real spark between me and Bella. I knew that little spark could turn into a raging fire, with a little encouragement.

"Edward! What's up?" Ryan asked, coming in to my bedroom.

"What the hell? Where did you come from?" I jumped up.

"My mother's womb, dumb-ass." Ryan stuck his tongue out at me.

Lisa stepped up and rolled her eyes. "Your brother let us in," she said.

Lucky Emmett and Jasper didn't have to get all dressed up and pose for the camera. They got to sneak through a secret entrance. No one cared about the band players, but they still got to live their dream. So while I had to sit here and model clothes I couldn't care less about for Lisa, they got to play on our Wii.

"So, Edward," Lisa smirked at me. "How's your girlfriend?"

"Lisa, she is not my girlfriend. We were just hanging out, and we were photographed. Big-whooping-deal."

Lisa and Ryan both raised their eyebrows at me.

"Fine, fine. I'm telling the truth when I say she's not my girlfriend. But I want her to be. She's a really sweet girl."

"See, Edward? I told you it would be great. You better name your first born child with her after me," Ryan said.

"Um, why would I name _anything_ after you?"

Ryan playfully punched my arm.

"Okay, kid, we have some work to do. We are going to make you look fabulous for your soon-to-be girlfriend." And with that Lisa walked to my closet to find me something to wear.

***

"Edward, you look awesome!" Lisa clapped.

"That's my girl, the fashionsta," Ryan said proudly, draping his arm around Lisa's shoulders.

I have to say, Lisa did a pretty good job of dressing me. I looked pretty good, style-wise, and I didn't even look gay. Have you seen what the Jonas Brothers wear? Ugh.

I was wearing dark jeans, a button up shirt whose sleeves went to my elbow, and a black vest. I had my favorite had on my head—the cowboy hat that Bella had been wearing when the paparazzi spotted us.

"Oh, Bella is just going to love it. Perhaps she'll faint!" Ryan exclaimed in a high-pitched falsetto.

"Lisa," I looked at my manager's girlfriend. "Thanks. A lot. I would have looked really horrible. I'm not good with fashion." I smiled sheepishly.

"Oh honey, I'd be worried if you were good at fashion. Don't worry. That's what I'm for. And soon, what Bella will be for."

"No, no. Actually, she won't. She has a stylist, because apparently she's not too great with getting dressed either," I said.

"She has trouble getting dressed?" Ryan waggled his eyebrows. "Maybe one day she'll forget to do so…"

"Oh, you pervert! Ryan!" Ryan dashed from the room, the material of his shirt just slipping from my grasp.

I shook my head. "How do you live with him?" I asked Lisa.

"Oh, you get used to it," she replied. "I'm surprised you've even let him be your manager for this long. You're a saint."

Lisa walked from the room, and I followed. I didn't want to be late to the Telethon, now did I?

**Do you like it? Anyway, Bella's dress will be on my profile. So the next chapter or two are going to be the Celebrity Telethon. I'm hoping to update as soon as possible. Please review! **

**Oh, and I do not own Twilight, or any of the songs mentioned. **

**Thank you to bellandedward4evr for making me update and for inspiring the character Ryan, too. :-)**


	7. One Wild Night Part One

**Bella's POV**

I smiled at the fans and posed for the cameras.

"Bella! I love you!"

"Over here, Bella!"

"Bella, will you marry me?"

Fans and photographers called out to me. I smiled and waved and made my way down the carpet walk. Further down more, I could see Rosalie, looking radiant in a short strapless neon pink dress. I couldn't see Edward though. I wondered what he was wearing. I hoped it would show off his hot muscles I had seen the other day when he'd worn a t-shirt.

I kept walking, signing autographs sometimes, too. I loved my fans. They were really cool. I liked signing autographs and taking pictures with them, I really did.

I got up to one of the interviewers. They were having live coverage of the entrances, showing what the celebrities were wearing, and interviewing them, too.

"Bella Swan! How are you doing?" The perky interviewer asked. She had auburn hair and hazel eyes, and she looked pretty nice. Her smile wasn't fake either, I could tell.

"I am great, couldn't be better," I told the camera in front of me warmly.

"So Bella, this is your third time at the Celebrity Telethon. How does it feel to know that you've been participating in such a beneficial cause for such a while?"

"I love the feeling of doing something that will make a difference. It's the best, and that's the primal pull of the Celebrity Telethon. That's what keeps bringing me back every year." I told the complete truth. I wasn't nervous either, even though I knew all the viewers of the Telethon were watching me right now. Before I became famous, that would have totally freaked me out, but I got used to stage fright quickly after I became a star.

"Every year you've brought in so many donations, over the phone and Internet. What's your secret?" The interviewer asked.

"Well, then it wouldn't be a secret, now would it?" I laughed."Well, I guess I have a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and I think that might inspire people to do something good for others."

The interview lady smiled. "Yes, well, that's really what this is all about. It's all fun, and a great party, too–but the underlying purpose of the Celebrity Telethon is for everyone to get a chance to do something good and enjoy it, too."

I nodded. "That's really the best part, and I have had so many experiences here. I met my best friend, Rosalie Hale here, while we were waiting to go on, and we were both just starting out in this business, and we hit it off. A lot happens here, and everything has a positive outcome. We are all doing this for the kids with cancer, and we deeply care about raising money for that cause."

"Well, thank you Bella, I'm sure you have to go get ready now," the lady wrapped it up.

"Yes, it was great talking to you," I smiled as I began to step away.

"You too," she said. She started to say something to the camera, but I was already on my way in.

A little while later, an assistant was showing me my way to the dressing room I would be sharing with three other girls. Usually me, Rose and two others we really never knew too well.

A stylist was doing Rose's hair when I walked into the room.

"Bella- Bon!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, Rose. Do you know who we're sharing the dressing room with?"

"Yeah, the R & B singer twins, Tori and Tara. They're not here yet. Love your dress, BTW."

A stylist ran in. "Bella! Oh, you look great. But we gotta get you dressed in your performance outfit, hon."

"Okay," I answered. I wondered what slutty costume they would have for me this year...

***

Not too long after, I was examining myself in the mirror. I was wearing really short denim shorts, with biker chains attached. They were kind of cool. I had a tight black tank top with lace on the top and little bead sprinkled under the lace. And of course, black cowboy boots. The stylist had decided against the hat.

"I gotta say, Bella. You look hot, baby!"

The door opened. It was Tori and Tara.

Rosalie stood up, the royal blue fringe of her skirt swaying. Compared to Rosalie's outfit, mine was nothing. Not that Rosalie was showing any more skin than me, but it was still really different.

Her skirt, like I said, was completely fringe. It was short too, just about covering the top of her thighs. She had shorts under, of course, but they were shorter than the fringe. They were like boy shorts. Right down the middle of her stomach was a string of blue and white beads going across, attaching the fringe skirt to Rosalie's top–a bikini top, with more royal blue fringe attached. Ha! Fringe on her boobs. But I have to say, it was really pretty. Especially on Rosalie.

"Oh my gosh, hi!" Rosalie said. "I'm Rose."

"Tara," one of them introduced herself.

Rosalie went to hug Tara, but the other one, who I guessed was Tori, shouted. "No! Don't touch her!" she shrieked. "You'll probably get an STD!"

I giggled. "She can't get an STD by merely touching her."

"No," Tori protested. "Really. You don't know what disease you might catch if you touch Tara."

I shook my head.

"Don't listen to Tori. She's my evil twin sister. I'm the normal one."

"I'm not the one who shot whiskey when I was thirteen," Tori argued.

My eyes got wide at the mention of my favorite acholholic drink. "I love whiskey," I said in a dreamy tone.

"Oh, please Bella, don't even talk about it," Rose squeaked.

I laughed. I often drank whiskey, and got really drunk. That was my wilder side. Just like the song I was singing tonight. I was half drunk when I wrote it. Drunk Bella was... really crazy. Let's just leave it at that.

Tori and Tara continued fighting, but you could tell they loved each other, even though they kept calling each other "bitch", and "slut", and "pain in the ass". A stylist came and got them after a little while.

"I love twins," Rosalie said. "They're so funny."

I agreed, and then an assistant came into the room to tell us that we could go to the Party Room, which was the backstage room we all hung out in, and talked and ate and watched what was going on out on stage from one of the many huge TV screens.

People were already in there, mingling and eating and drinking and watching the TVs, which were showing the _Celebrity Telethon: Live On the Red Carpet_ special. The lady who had been interviewing me was now talking to some other singer.

Rose and I made our way to one of the couches, and I saw some guys checking us (and our skimpy outfits) out.

"So, Rosalie Lillian," I began, folding my hands in my lap. "How did last night's _outing_ with Emmett Cullen go?"

"Perfect! Absolutely perfect." Rose sighed. "He is my new boyfriend. I consider him my boyfriend. I wonder if he thinks I'm his girlfriend. He is wonderful."

"I'm glad things are working out for you so quickly."

"You know me, Bella. I don't like to take my time with things. Quite unlike you." Rosalie looked at the TVs, then she squealed. "Bella! Edward's on!" She stood up and pointed to the TVs.

Sure enough, there he was, glorious in every possible way.

"...And I definitely am glad that I'm here. I'm really excited to do this, because it will help people in need. We all want an opportunity to help people, but we never find one. This is a great way to do a good deed," Edward was saying.

He looked great. He was wearing dark jeans, and a while shirt that came up to his elbows, and a black vest over that. I bet if I touched him, he would sizzle.

I fanned myself with my hand. "Rosalie, get ready, 'cause this is gonna be one hell of a night."

**Edward's POV**

Who knew telethons could be this wild? I surely didn't, up until now.

Emmett and Jasper were pretty much ready when I got into the dressing room. I was now wearing faded jeans, and a wife beater under an open green button up short-sleeved shirt. It had some cool design on the back. I had a shark tooth necklace and a beaded black surfer style necklace on, and a brown cowboy hat.

And I was sitting next to a very skimpily dressed Bella Swan.

Was I lucky or was I lucky?

Ooh, I know. I was lucky.

The woman was way too beautiful for her own good. The show had already started, and it was crazy in the Party Room. But I kept on sneaking peeks at her.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Pussycat Dolls!" the announcer said.

The live audience screamed, and Bella and Rosalie scrunched their faces up.

"What?" Jasper asked.

"I hate watching the Pussycat Dolls perform," Bella explained.

"Why?" I was curious.

"It makes me feel really weird, because they might as well be stripping. Ugh!" Bella shook her head and hid her face in my arm. I rubbed her back absentmindedly. She was so cute! I liked it when she snuggled up to me, even if it was just for protection from the Pussycat Dolls. It was a start.

Jasper, who was sprawled out on the floor in front of the couch, rather than on it (Jasper was weird sometimes), was nodding to the beat of _When I Grow Up_, and watching the Pussycat Dolls' performance.

I shook my head. If he liked Alice so much, why was he checking out the girls on stage who were more naked than dressed?

Oh well. That's how guys are. But I didn't want to watch PCD. They were dogs compared to Bella.

"God, do they think they're hot?" Emmett shook his head. "I've always thought they were too slutty for my liking."

This was true. Emmett never liked the Pussycat Dolls.

"Thank you! Thank you. I thought all guys would be going gaga for them." Rosalie scowled. "Stop being a pervert, Jasper."

"I'm not a pervert!" Jasper protested, looking up at Rosalie.

"Then why are you all wide-eyed?" Rosalie challenged.

"That's not right Jasper," Bella looked at him. "Especially if you like Alice. I'm gonna tell on you."

I saw fire in Jasper's eyes right then."Okay, who told them?" Jasper thundered, looking daggers at me and Emmett.

"A little birdie," Rosalie suggested.

Jasper glared.

And then I was saved by an assistant. She ran up to us. "Edward Cullen and his band," she said.

Emmett caught Shaun and Dusty's eyes, and motioned for them to get up. The assistant led us out of the Party Room and around a bunch of hallways.

We got to an room that led to the stage. "Okay, your instruments were left in here, so find them," she ordered. We did as we were told. At least, those of us who had instruments that weren't already set up on stage did.

The Pussycat Dolls were finishing up, and we were going on right after.

"Okay, so what are you going to do? How do you want this set up?" the assistant asked.

"I thought of an awesome thing to do!" Shaun waved his arms over his head.

"What, Shaun?"

"Okay, this is great. Okay, get ready. The camera focuses on the announcer while she announces Edward, while we take our positions on stage. Then, when the music starts, the camera turns to us!" Shaun exclaimed with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Wow. You're a genius," Jasper said jokingly.

"I like that. It's good. Okay, let's do that." I nodded at the assistant. She relayed the message to the camera crew, using her head piece thing.

The Pussycat Dolls finished, and they exited the stage, after blowing kisses to the audience.

"Go, go!" the assistant pushed us out.

"Whoo! Were they great or were they great?" The announcer, who was a famous TV host, said. "Now, if you loved their performance, or any performance of the night, just call the number at the bottom of the screen and tell the operator you want to donate for the Pussycat Dolls, or whichever artist inspired you to donate. Everything counts. Even a small donation can make a difference."

The announcer smiled. "Now, our next performer is someone who lots of people love. He's tall, he's good looking, and looks hot in a cowboy hat. Give it up for Edward Cullen!" She applauded.

I smiled. I was at the microphone stand now, and the guys were in position with their instruments. A stool had been put in front of the mic stand while the Pussycat Dolls had been taking bows. I sat, one leg resting on one of the bars that the connected the legs of the stool, and one on the floor.

I nodded, and the music started.

The crown screamed and cheered. From the first or second row, a group of girls screamed, "We love you, Edward!"

I was playing guitar. I usually played guitar for my songs. I started to sing my song, strumming the strings, tapping my foot to the music, singing my heart out.

I remembered my inspiration for this song. I'd been disgusted with the way the world was, and how convoluted life was. I wasn't old or wise, but I knew that our world wasn't perfect. I wanted to get that message across.

I also remembered the reason I was here. I was raising money for charity. I was helping to make life a bit better for a kid who needed some improvement in their life.

I was pretty passionate about my song.

"Singin' a-men, I'm aliiiiivve, singin' a-amen, I'm alive," I sang.

The audience sang along, too, and cheered.

When we finished, there was thunderous applause. "Thank you," I waved at the crowed. I nodded at the guys, and they waved, too.

"We love you!" the girls screamed again.

I left the stage, and I passed Rosalie in the wings.

"You were great!" she told us.

"Thanks," Emmett said as she hugged him.

"Good luck," I told her.

She waved that off. "As if I need it!" she laughed, and then the assistant next to her told her to get on stage.

Rosalie stuck her chin out. "It's show time," she said, and stalked out.

I ran back to the Party Room, and saw Bella alone on the couch. I went over to her as familiar pop music filled my ears.

"Hey!" she stood when she saw me approaching her. "You were great!" She hugged me, and then she quickly pulled back and blushed. "Sorry," she said.

"Don't be." I slid my hand into hers. She looked up and smile at me.

"C'mon, let's go watch Rose."

We sat on our couch, and I noticed that Jasper and Emmett had gone over to where Shaun and Dusty were sitting.

Emmett looked over to me and gave me a thumbs up. They'd done it purposely to give me and Bella alone time. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to the screen closest to our couch.

Rosalie was singing and dancing and having fun on stage. Her backup singers and dancers were dressed in white sailor girl outfits. I had no idea how that fit into the theme of her song, but okay.

"I'm so over it, I've been there and back!" she sang, shaking her shoulders. She was a great performer, and with her crazy outfit combined with her dance moves, she was sure to bring in lots of money.

She snapped her fingers, and shook her hips. She was really confident on stage, that was for sure. And she was one of the few pop singers who could actually sing.

She got into a line with her backup dancers, and they all started kicking their legs in the air.

They finished in a pose, with Rosalie leaning on the floor, with the backup dancers all around her. The audience roared with applause. Bella stood up and clapped, and so did I.

"She was amazing!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, she was good," I agreed. But I was anxiously waiting for the best part of the show. The part when Bella would perform.

**Please review! Again, thanks to bellandedward4evr, who inspired yet another character. Actually, two, Tori and Tara. A lot of the lines that those characters said were real things that were said by those two crazy people, bellandedward4evr and her twin. **

**Anyway, the next chapter will be part two of the Celebrity Telethon.**

**Also, I do not own Twilight, or any of the artists/songs mentioned in this chapter, or any of the chapters so far. **

**Review, I'd really love it! Thanks!**


	8. One Wild Night Part Two

**Well, I've had a lot of time on my hands recently, so I wrote this chapter pretty quickly. At least, quicker than I thought I would write it. Every spare moment I had was spent working on this chapter. I worked very hard on it so I could get it out as soon as possible. Be appreciative and review! **

**Bella's POV**

Edward's performance of _If Everyone Cared_ totally blew me away. It was truly moving. It totally got his message across, and the whole purpose of the Celebrity Telethon was reflected in that song.

He didn't say anything after he sang it. He just nodded. But when he did, I could see the meaning in his eyes. One look into those eyes, and you knew… you knew he believed what he was singing about. That was what made the song so amazing. That you could tell he believed in what he was singing about. That every word was coming from the heart.

I loved that song, though it was more of a rock song than it was country. It didn't matter. It was all one hundred percent meaningful.

I felt stupid now. I was going to sing a crazy, wild party song after that?

Of course, I was reassured after Rosalie's performance, which was right after Edward's. _Goodbye_ was in no way meaningful like Edward's song, and the audience enjoyed it just as much. I hoped it wasn't because they were too stupid to appreciate the beauty of a song like _If Everyone Cared_.

While Edward and I watched Rosalie's performance from our couch, we held hands. It seemed that Edward liked to hold my hand. I wondered if he was a Beatles fan.

I liked to hold his hand, too. He had a beautiful hand. He hand long fingers, and a smooth palm. His hand was warm, and mine fit into his perfectly.

Now, I know it's childish to dwell on hand holding, but I've never had a great physical relationship with a guy. I'd kissed my high-school boyfriend Maksim a lot, but when he left, I'd just gotten disgusted when Jeff, my replacement boyfriend had kissed me. That's the end of my dating history, so yes: I'm a virgin.

I wasn't just going to do it with anyone. I was waiting to fall in love first.

I know I'm going to sound stupid and naïve, but I thought I might be falling in love with Edward. After just barely a couple of weeks of knowing him, I already knew he was different from other guys. Since I'd become a celebrity, I'd dated some guys, but they were all jerks. Edward was different. He was sweet, and he was a gentleman. I liked him, a lot, and I thought he felt the same way.

He'd told me a lot about himself on our little date, and so had I. And I'd confided in him about Alice. Nobody but Rose knew about that.

I decided to tune into Rose's performance. About five seconds after that, she was done.

Geez, a great friend I am. I missed out on the whole thing because I was too busy focusing on Edward. I stood up and clapped my hands, even though I was reluctant to give Edward's hand up.

"She was amazing!" I said to Edward. At least those five seconds were.

"Yeah, she was good," he agreed. "But I bet you'll be better." He smiled at me. His amazing, perfect, crooked smile.

I couldn't help but smile back. I slid my hand back into his, and his grin got wider. His green eyes were smoldering, and again he gave me the feeling that I would melt. I wondered how he could make such an unromantic event _feel_ romantic. He did it yesterday, too, when we were waiting in line to tell John Callahan what song we would be performing.

I blushed. "You're quite the charmer, aren't you?" I smirked.

"I can be Prince Charming… but only if you'll be Cinderella."

"Slide over, lovers," Emmett said, coming over to our couch again with Jasper. I wondered why they sat with Shaun and Dusty during Rose's song.

"Why did you call us that, Emmett?" Edward asked.

"Because that's what you are." Emmett shrugged.

"Emmett, everyone's making assumptions that we're a couple. We don't need you, too."

"Yeah, Emmett, they're still building a relationship. God, you're so stupid. People need time to sort out their feeling for one another, and that's what Edward and Bella are working on. Feelings like love aren't so easily referred to, and I'm sure Bella and Edward do not want to rush into it. It's an intracate process. Rushing can be one of the worst things for a relationship. Calling them names such as 'lovers' can also pressure them too much, which may result in a forced relationship, and we definitelydo not want that because it would mess up our plans of getting Edward his dream girlfriend!"

After that we all just stared at Jasper. What the....?

Then I turned to Edward. "I'm your dream girlfriend?"

"Uh, well, um.... yes."

"That's funny, because you're my dream boyfriend." Oh my God, had I just admitted that?

"Really?"

"Uh.......Oh, look, uh, Rosalie is coming back. Come on, Jasper." Emmett and Jasper left. I watched them go.

On stage, Jason Mraz was now playing _I'm Yours_. That was such a beautiful song. I closed my eyes for a second and let the music calm me down before I turned back to Edward.

"We should just get together already, because we both know we want to be together," Edward said. "I want us to be together. I've wanted us to be together ever since I first heard you sing."

That touched me. It warmed my heart. It gave me confidence. "So, why aren't we together?" I was curled up to Edward's side now, and I swayed to the lovey, happy song that reflected my mood right now that was playing.

"I don't know." Edward's green eyes bored into mine. "Why aren't we?"

"Because," I said softly. "You haven't kissed me." Woah. Where had that come from?

I looked at Edward, and he looked into my eyes as if he could see straight into my soul. He took my face in his hands. Oh my goodness, he was going to kiss me. We were about to have our first kiss together! We leaned in, and then our lips locked. It was the most incredible experience of my life. The way his lips felt against mine as they moved together was indescribable. Too soon, it was over, and we were pulling away. I looked into his happy emerald eyes.

And then I heard applause. The performance was not over yet, and the clapping and cheers weren't coming from the fans. Who was appaluding?

Oh. My. God. I'd never been more mortified than I'd been at that moment. My whole face got hot.

Not too far away, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Shaun and Dusty were watching us. They'd been watching our whole kiss. They were the ones applauding.

"Yay!" Rosalie cheered. "You guys are together! Oh my gosh, Bella, we're dating brothers! Alice will never believe it, but she'll have to because Dusty lent me his camera phone, and I taped the whole thing! I'm gonna send it to her. She'll go nuts!"

I could not believe it! My perfect first kiss with Edward had been ruined by our friends.

"I will always remeber what you guys did to me!" I said.

"You'll thank us, Bella. One day when you're too old to remember what your first kiss with him was like, I'll be able to show you! I'm an amazing friend," Rosalie defended herself.

"Okay, why don't you phsycos go back to the nut house," Edward suggested.

"Fine," Emmett said. "C'mon Jasper, Edward said you have to go bye-bye."

"When I talk about phsycos, I mean you, Em. Jasper's just a dumb blond," Edward laughed. "Now, would you all leave us alone, please?"

Everyone left to their other couch. "I can't believe they did that. They're crazy."

"They sure are," Edward agreed. He took off his cowboy hat and put it on my head. "So, are we together now?"

"Well, I would say we're more than just friends."

"In that case, would you acomapany me to dinner tomorrow night?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course." I blushed, because I couldn't go for a minute without blushing.

An assistant came up to me. "Bella, you and your band are up after Jesse McCartney finishes, and he's after Jason Mraz, who's just about finishing up. So if you would get your band..."

"Sure," I got up. Great. Now I had to perform, when all I wanted to think about was my kiss with Edward. "Wish me luck," I said to him.

"Good luck," he winked at me. I blushed and giggled in response.

I found Amy hanging on a couch flirting with some cute celebrity, and Steve and Jacko watching from a nearby couch, Jacko glaring at the guy Amy was talking to. Everyone knew Jacko had a huge thing for Amy, except for Amy hesrself, and she was a huge flirt.

"Amy, Jacko, Steve," I called the guys from my place behind Amy's couch. "We're about to go on."

"Oh, I'll see you later, after I rock out on guitar. Watch for me," Amy winked at her new friend, and then got up. So did Jacko and Steve.

"Do you know where Calle and Megan are?" I asked Amy.

"Yeah, they're over by the food." Amy pointed.

"I'll get them," Steve volunteered.

I turned to the assistant. "Okay, after we get these two girls, we can go."

The assistant nodded.

Steve came back with Calle and Megan and we left for the stage. Calle, Steve, Jacko, Megan and Amy had been my band ever since my first album, and we would stick together. They were really close friends to me, and they knew my music inside out.

"So," Jacko began. "This is our third time in a row performing and raising money here. This year is gonna be our best yet, right guys?"

"Yeah!" we all agreed enthusiastically.

"I love your outfit, Bella," Calle said as we walked down all the hallways to get to the entrance to the stage.

"Really? It's very slutty."

"But you have the body for it. You look great," Megan assured me.

"I'm sure Edward thought so, too," Amy added while I blushed.

"Yeah, you never told any of us what was going on with him. We just figured all those rumors were just lies, and that you guys were just planning for the song you're gonna write together. We had no idea that there might be any truth to those rumors until we saw you kissin' on the couch," Steve said.

"Well, I like him. It's nothing serious or whatever, but... why don't we just focus on our perfomance right now. I'll give you girls all the details some other time," I promised.

"Just the girls? Hey, maybe I want some deets, too!" Steve protested. I laughed. Steve was very funny.

"Okay," the assistant, who'd been leading us to the wings the whole time, said when we reached our destination. "Find your instruments if they're not already set up on stage," she told my band.

We told the girl how we were setting it up (we'd planned it yeseterday), and before we knew it, it was our turn.

"It's show time," I told them before they went out to take their positions on stage. I wouldn't be coming out until after them.

I was so excited! I was going to perform! I always got a bit jittery when I was about to go onstage, but one I was out there, I was totally fine. It came naturally.

However, right now, not everything in my mind was focused on my song. Right now, I really wanted to sit on that cozy couch with Edward and hold his hand.

"Let's hear it for Bella Swan!" the announcer said.

That was when the music started.

I flipped my hair and walked on stage. This wasn't time to think about the hottie who had just kissed me. It was time to think about my music. Feel my music and lyrics on my lips, not Edward's mouth. Right. I could do that, for the kids with cancer. _Think about them, Bella!_

I got into performance mode, and I managed to really get into my crazy cowboy song. I knew I was a true cowgirl on the inside. That was who I was. And that required me to be crazy sometimes. Was my kiss with Edward considered crazy and cowgirl-ish?

Yeah. I was a cowgirl falling for a really sweet cowboy. And I had kissed my cowboy at a crazy party. Though it hadn't been a crazy kiss...

The music. The lyrics. Not Edward's lips and kissing skills. But, oh God, he was a great kisser.

I managed to put the kiss out of my head, and focus on my song for a while. Good. Now I could really put on a show.

I dance all over the stage and became myself. My party girl side was really showing through now that I had put Edward and his kiss out of my head. If I had bee singing one of my romantic songs, thinking about him would have been great. But this song wasn't a romantic song. Right now I wasn't romantic Bella.

Right now I was red-neck Bella.

"I'm here for the party!" I finished, with one hand gripping my microphone, the other in a fist, pumped up in the air. The audience was screamig, and I was smiling. "Thank you!" I told them. I motioned for my band to take a bow. They deserved as much credit as I did.

We all high-fived and hugged each other.

"That was awesome!"

"We rocked!"

I got back into the party room, where I saw all my friends sitting on the couch. Rosalie was dressed for her performance with Flo Rida. She was wearing high purple pumps, and plaid purple and white knee high socks. She wore a white mini-skirt and a tight purple shirt.

"Nice outfit," I said to Rose a she engulfed me in a hug.

"You were so frickin' awesome!" she shrieked. "Alice would agree. I bet she's watching at your loft!"

"You really were great. If I didn't know any better, I would have said you were a real cowgirl," Jasper joked.

"It's all in the heart, not about where you were born," I said.

I turned to Edward.

"You were so great. That sure was a different Bella than the one I know," he said. "You should let that Bella show through a little more. I like it."

I blushed. "The only timethat side of Bella shows through is when she's had some whiskey. We'll get her drunk one day so you can see," Rosalie told Edward. "She wrote that song when she was drunk."

"Half drunk!" I protested.

"Please. I saw what you did that night before you wrote it. You see," she started telling the guys, "we went to this party and Bella got sooo drunk, she was dancing on the tables, and dancing with this guy... and then when she got home she was saying how she should write a song about partying, and..."

An assistant came up to us then, and I silently thanked her for saving me. "Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, you guys need to change for your final performance," she told us. She had another assistant next to her. The girl who had talked to us led me to my dressing room, while the other one led Edward to his.

"Forgive me if I'm being rude," the assistant girl started. "But I've been wanting to know. Are you really dating Edward? You don't have to answer if you feel uncomfortable. I promise I won't go and tell the tabloids."

"Well, yeah. We're kinda on our way to being a couple. We're gonna go out soon."

"Yeah, and I saw you kissing," the assistant let out a nervous giggle.

"Oh." I blushed. Who else had witnessed our kiss?

"Well," I confided in the girl, "I'll tell you a secret. We're supposed to write a song together. The record company wants us to, so we met up, and... well, I wanted to do more with him than just write a song, because he's a really cool guy. I've had a crush on him for a long time, even though I'd never met him. Now that I have, I feel like I know him. He's just like I pictured he would be like to talk to and hang out with, but even better."

"So it's not really official yet?"

"Well, he's not my boyfriend. But we both know that we want to be together, so..."

"So you're gonna give it a shot?"

"Yeah. I hope it works out. I really like him, and I don't want to screw this up."

"Don't worry," the assistant girl assured me. "You've already kissed, and he's asked you out. You seem to be heading in the right direction. Don't worry. Just be yourself."

We stopped in front of a door. "Well, here's your dressing room."

We went in, and a stylist was in there, getting my outfit together. "Well, good luck on your next performance, Bella." The assistant tuned to leave.

"Thanks for listening to me."

"Any time." Then, the girl who I'd just spilled everything to left. She was a good listener, and she was sweet. And I hadn't even gotten her name.

***

Rosalie had stolen the show away from Flo Rida when she'd performed with him. She was even better than the original girl who sang the female vocals.

I was now getting ready to go onstage for the Final Cast Performance, where almost everyone sang an older song. I normallly would be nervous. After all, I'd be performing with people I'd never met before.

But so much had happened tonight. Edward had kissed me. I was still glowing from it, and I felt like I could do anything, with Edward holding my hand at my side.

"...Give it up for all the people who have entertained you tonight, this year's cast of the Celebrity Telethon!" the announcer said, and I heard the audidence scream. We all walked on stage, and the screams got louder. We took our positions on stage that we were told to take yesterday.

The music started, and I had the first line to sing, so I was starting out in the middle of the stage with everyone else surrounding me. "It's close to midnight, a something evil's lurking from the dark," I sang.

I danced around with the girl standing close to me as the others sang their parts.

At the chorus we all danced the classic steps and sang.

"Thriller!" we all chorused. This was fun. I found myself standing next to Edward. He twirled me around. I saw Rosalie being lifted onto two guys' shoulders, and then it was her turn to sing. It was really cool.

We were all singing and dancing together like we'd practiced. A lot of us had never even met before. I clawed at the air, and did that thing where you held up two fingers and traced your eyes with them. I looked around. We were all doing some weird dance move, and wearing torn black clothes. We must have looked freaky. Whenever it was someone's turn to sing, they walked to the center of the stage and did a move before dancing back to everyone else in the backround.

All the girls walked to the front and made a line, and the boys made a line behind us like we'd been told to do yesterday. Then we danced the thriller dance part. The guys started to say that creepy part of the song in scary voices, while the girls "terrorized" the audience by clawing at the crowed while we were kneeling at the edge of the stage.

At the end of the song we all did the evil laugh, and then all the lights went out. The audience went crazy, and we all took our bows.

It was a great night. I'd had a lot of fun, and hopefully raised a lot of money for kids with cancer. And most importantly, I'd kissed Edward. I touched my lips, where his kiss lingered. Yes, this night had been perfect. I hoped there would be other nights that would be just as great in my future.

**Please review! A lot happened in that chapter, right? I was shocked when I found myself writing the kiss. I didn't plan to write that in, it just happened, but I'm glad it did. **

**I love reviews, so please give me your comments! I want to know what you think. **

**Also, I don't own Twilight, or any of the songs or artists mentioned in this chapter.**


	9. Love Gets Me Every Time

**Everybody, thank you for the reviews. Sorry it took so long to update, but you'll see why: this chapter is super long!! So that kind of makes up for it. So, we move onward in the life of Bella and Edward as hillbillies. Just kidding! Actually, country singers and cowboys are not hillbillies! They are super cool and sexy. That's why Edward is a cowboy. Cowboys= Sexy. Edward Cullen= Sexy. Cowboy + Edward Cullen= Super Sexy Cowboy Edward Cullen! **

_Ring, ring._

I checked the caller ID on my cell phone before answering. "Hi, dad."

"Hey, kiddo. I saw you on TV last night," Charlie said.

"What did you think of my performance?"

"It was great. The only thing… couldn't they have put longer pants on you? And what was with the chains?"

I laughed. "I liked the chains. I thought it gave the whole outfit a nice touch. "

"Well, you did a great job. You were the best one up there."

"Thanks, dad. Hey, I've been meaning to ask you. Do you know a guy named Carlisle Cullen?"

"Yeah. He used to live in Forks. He moved to Texas a few years ago. The hospital was devastated, because he was a great doctor. Why do you ask?"

"One of the most popular country singers right now is his son, and he told me he used to live in Forks. I wanted to know why you never told me."

"Wait. Who's a country singer?"

"Edward Cullen! He's the son of Carlisle Cullen, the guy you just told me about. He's a famous country singer now. I wanted to know why you never told me."

"Because I didn't even know. His son is a country singer? Wow. That's rare, that two kids from the same small town would be country singers. Huh."

"Well, I'm not exactly from Forks, dad, and he lived in Texas for a while… still, I get what you mean. I just wanted to know if you remembered him. He knew who you were as soon as I said your name."

"Well, he never got into trouble with me, so I wouldn't really remember him. That's really crazy, that he's from Forks. So that makes five Forks kids becoming famous."

I smiled when I thought about my best friends from Forks. Jacob Black and Leah Clearwater had gotten married and now lived in Florida, because Jacob played for Miami Heat. Leah was an Oscar winning actress, and she flew back and forth from Florida to California for her movies. Leah's brother Seth was an actor, too. He did a lot of comedies.

I recalled countless weekends at my house, watching movies and eating popcorn, and going down to the beach. I'd never really befriended any of the kids from Forks High.

Jacob had had a huge crush on me when I first moved there, but when I started going out with Maksim, he moved on. The funny thing was, Jacob hadn't even tried a relationship with Leah until after they were both stars.

"So how did you get to know this kid?" Charlie asked.

"Well, I don't know if you've heard, dad, but it's been all over the tabloids and the Internet."

"Hey, you know I don't read magazines or go on the computer. Except I do buy magazines sometimes, when you're on the cover," he said thoughtfully.

"I_ was_ on the cover, dad."

"Oh. I must have missed it."

I laughed. That was just like my dad.

"So, what's this headline story that I missed, huh?"

"Well, the record company wants us to write a song together. We met up to, you know, get to know each other, and now everyone think we're dating."

"Are you?" He seemed quite curious.

"Are we really going to talk boys, dad?"

"Yeah, I guess that's what Alice is for. Speaking of, how is she?"

"She's great. Her new clothing line is coming out soon, and she's prepping for it. She's got a lot of responsibility. Not bad for someone they hired off the street."

When I'd gotten my first recording contract and moved to LA, I'd brought Alice with me. Now, Alice hadn't gone to college, and neither had I. But it was a problem for Alice because she didn't have training for her dream job: being a designer. I'd made a deal with her—that she could live at my loft and get paid if she would be my stylist and assistant. Because no one was more fashionable or organized than Alice. Seriously. The girl was so neat and prepared.

We'd only been about nineteen, and neither of us had gone to college. Me, I didn't need to because I had become a celebrity. But Alice wanted to go to design school so she could become a designer.

Design school became unnecessary when one of the head designers from Military saw her in an outfit she had made herself. He stopped her and asked her questions, and it didn't matter that she hadn't gone to design school. He hired her on the spot. And now, she was getting her own line. It was extremely exciting.

My phone made a noise that brought me out of my reverie. "Oh, sorry dad, someone's on the other line. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Bye, Bells."

"Bye, dad," I said, and then I switched to the other line. "Hello?"

"Hey Bella, it's Edward," he said. I detected a bit of nervousness in his voice.

"Hi, Edward," I said as I sprawled out on the couch. "How's it going?"

"Well, nothing's changed since the last time I saw you."

I giggled. "Yeah, I guess that's a stupid question. So what gives me the honor of receiving this call?" I was surprised at how confident I was. But I felt really comfortable with Edward.

"Well, Bella, I couldn't sleep last night, because I just kept thinking about you. So, in order to make up for your causing my sleep deprivation, you'll go to dinner with me tonight."

"Of course! I would love to."

"Okay. So I'll pick you up at seven."

"I'll see you then. Bye Edward."

"Bye, Bella."

**Edward's POV**

I couldn't believe it. I had actually done it. I'd asked Bella out on a date. A real date. Not a crappy date like the last time. This time, we were going to dinner.

I was surprised at how easy it was. It had been so natural. Usually I got so choked up when I asked a pretty girl out. Maybe I was actually getting good at this!

Or maybe it was because we'd been on the phone and I hadn't been able to see her big brown eyes.

Well, yesterday I'd been really smooth. Not a bit of awkwardness. I'd even kissed her! I could still feel her lips on mine, see the way her eyes compelled me toward her.

So, were like an official couple, or were we… Oh, God! I sounded so… Forks Junior High.

I picked up a CD from my whole wall of them. It was one of my favorites. On the cover, a brunette girl in a black cowboy hat was snuggling with a swan. A real one.

It was Bella's first album. She was only a teenager in the picture, but she was still so beautiful. I guess the thing with the swan was a representation of her last name. I thought it was clever. Cooler than my first album cover.

I put it back on the shelf and walked into the living room, where Emmett and Jasper were watching TV.

"Guess who has a date with Bella Swan tonight?" I announced. "I do!"

Jasper and Emmett's response was to shush me.

"Ssshhhh!"

"Shut up!"

They stared intently at the screen.

"Are you guys watching… soap operas?" I asked in disbelief. My jaw dropped.

Emmett sighed, and reluctantly grabbed the remote and turned the TV off.

"Hey!" Jasper protested.

"Jasper, we gotta get out of this soap opera obsession!"

"Obsession? How long have you guys been watching these shows?" I was so shocked.

"We've been following this one since the beginning of the season. It's so good. Ricky is this guy, and his parents died, and they left everything to Ricky. But Ricky's sister Renalda thinks that Ricky forced their parents to give it all to him, and that he killed them, because Ricky was in serious debt. But Ricky's girlfriend—"

"Okay, Emmett, he gets it! Now just turn it back on! C'mon, I wanna see what happens to Angelique and Ricky!"

"Jazz, you already _know_he's going to go with Kendra. You can read about it online. But we have to get out of this addiction! Guys don't watch soaps!"

Jasper and Emmett started arguing. I shook my head and headed out to my car.

Anything to get away from those two bozos.

**Bella's POV**

After we hung up, I almost fainted. Edward Cullen said he hadn't been able to sleep because he was thinking about me! ME!

I'd seen the date invitation coming. I mean, after our kiss last night…

I went to my shelf of CDs. I had quite a few, but I easily picked out one of my favorites. On the cover, a topless guy stood in an empty wheat field in a cowboy hat and jeans. He had an easy, carefree smile—but whenever I'd actually seen this guy in person, his smile was even more spectacular.

Yeah, this was Edward's first album. He was twenty in this picture. Now he was twenty-three. I thought I remembered that his birthday was sometime in June. That meant it would be soon.

I put the CD back on the shelf, telling myself I'd get to see the real Edward Cullen later. Because he'd asked me out!

"Alice!" I dashed to her room. "Guess what! You'll never guess what happened!"

Alice was at her desk, bent over some designs. "Edward asked you out?"

"Yes! How did you guess?"

Alice got up and rolled her eyes. "Where are you guys going? Please don't tell me you denied a dinner date, _again_."

"Nope, we're going to dinner. I'm not sure where though…"

Alice's face brightened. "We need to find you the perfect outfit! Let's go shopping."

"Like I don't have enough clothes already? Anyway, I'm not arguing with you this time. I actually want to go this time."

"Yay! Yay, yay yay, yay!"

A little while later, we were at the mall.

"Oh my God! I found these two totally hot dresses, Bella. This green one is Juicy, and this dark blue one is…"

"Hey, I know that girl!" I interrupted her.

"Huh?" Alice looked around.

I walked over to where the girl was browsing through the racks. "Hi," I said.

The girl looked up. "Bella Swan? Oh my God, I can't believe it!"

She was the girl I had talked to at the Celebrity Telethon last night, the assistant I had spilled everything to. She had short brown hair olive colored skin. The girl she was with was staring at me, her blue eyes wide.

"So, what are you doing here?" the assistant girl asked.

"Oh, I came here with my best friend Alice to find something to wear for my" I lowered my voice "date with you-know-who tonight."

"Aww, he asked you out? That's great!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty giddy about it. I can't wait!"

"I hope you have a great time," she smiled.

"Hey, you know, I never got your name," I said.

"Oh, I'm Mekah. And this is my sister, Bobbi," she introduced herself and the blue eyed girl.

Sisters? They looked nothing alike. Bobbi's blonde bob haircut, bright blue eyes, and pale skin were nothing alike with Mekah's features. Even their names were totally different. Bobbi was all-American looking, while Mekah seemed more exotic.

Alice voiced my thoughts. "You guys are sisters? Wow, I never would have thought."

"Well, we're half sisters, but just as close," Bobbi explained.

"Yeah, our dad is a hot-shot movie producer. He's on wife number six now." Mekah shook her head. "I wonder how long this one's gonna last. Anyway, we both worked at the Celebrity Telethon last night because of him. His friend is the guy that set it up, and he needed more assistants, so our dad signed us up. John Callahan needed people that didn't faint when they see a celeb, and that's us. We've met so many movie stars now, that it's barely exciting anymore. They're all just people." Mekah shrugged.

We talked a little more about the celebrities she'd met, but I remembered why I was here: to find something to wear on my date.

"Gimme your number," I suggested. We swapped numbers, and then I had to be on my way.

"It was nice seeing you again."

"You too. Have fun on your date!"

Later that night, I was sitting in Edward's car in a dark blue dress and black cowboy boots.

He'd pecked me on the lips when I'd stepped out of the elevator, and it just about melted my heart.

I had to get a hold of myself. This was our first real date. But I didn't have to be nervous or anything, because we'd already kissed. How backwards. Usually you kissed after you started dating. But he was just so perfect. I admitted to myself that I'd been dying to kiss him ever since I first saw a picture of him in _Zone _magazine.

I thought that since we'd already kissed, we could be more comfortable together. He didn't have to be shy about touching me now. That was a very good thing.

"So, where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"What, is it a surprise or something?"

"No…"

"So then you can tell me."

"Nah. I'd rather make you suffer and wait."

"Oh, that's cruel. I hate surprises."

"But since this isn't a surprise, I'd say that you hate not knowing everything."

"I know I don't know everything, and I don't want to! Just tell me where we're going."

"To dinner."

"You're frustrating me."

"Oh, but you're cute when you're frustrated."

I smacked his chest. "You're not being very nice to your date. And you were such a gentleman all those other times we were together…"

"I am a gentleman. My mother raised me right. Not like so many of the guys nowadays. I just don't want to tell you where we're going."

"Why?"

"Because it's highly entertaining."

I rolled my eyes. "What is your problem?"

"_I'm_ the one with the problem?"

I giggled. He was definitely having fun teasing me. He turned the car stereo on to an Aerosmith song.

"You really love Aerosmith, don't you?"

He nodded. "My all-time favorite."

"Why do you love them so much? I don't see the big deal…"

He gaped at me. "What? How can you… Aerosmith is one of the best rock bands in history, Bella! They're legends."

"I know, Edward. I like Aerosmith too. I'm just saying… I'm more of a Def Leppard girl."

"Def Leppard? Bella, how do you compare Areosmith, the gods of rock, to those stupid Brits? They can't spell for their life!"

"Have you ever heard their music?"

"Of course. It's good, but not nearly as amazing as Aerosmith."

"Aerosmith was so perverted, though!"

"And Def Leppard isn't? C'mon, _Pour Some Sugar on Me_?"

I looked at him then, and I forgot what we were arguing about. His beautiful eyes, his perfect face, his sexy hair… the last words I remembered him saying were "pour some sugar on me."

"I'd be happy to," I mumbled, and then I blushed bright red as I realized what I'd just said. He was referring to the song, and I'd… I'd just told him I'd pour my sugar on him! Oh my God! I'd never been more embarrassed in my whole life.

I would have been more embarrassed if he'd actually heard what I'd said.

"What was that?"

"Oh, er, nothing."

He glanced sideways at me. "That color looks lovely on you." I looked down and blushed.

"Thank you." He took my hand and brought it up to his lips.

"Edward, do you think that we're going a little to fast?" I asked nervously. It had been bugging me all the way in the back of my mind, but the concern had to be vocalized now, or it never would be.

"What do you mean?"

"In this relationship, I mean. It was supposed to be somewhat professional, seeing how we're supposed to write a song together, but it has turned into so much, so quickly. Of course, I really liked you from the start and hoped that we'd have something between us, but do you think we've rushed it a bit? I mean, I don't have much experience with relationships..."

"If you think we're going too fast, I'll slow down for you. But I'm happy with this pace if you are. Why drag it out? But again, if you're not comfortable..."

"On the contrary, I am very comfortable. Almost too comfortable. And that is the problem. But if you don't think we need to slow down, then I don't think so either."

"Good." He smiled. "So what did you mean when you said you didn't have much experience with relationships?" He smirked.

I sighed. "The last serious boyfriend I had was in high school. I've dated guys after that, obviously, but it was only a one-time date, sometimes two."

"Why?"

"I never found anyone I wanted to be with." I blushed, before adding, "Until now, of course."

"What were your high school boyfriends like?" he asked, seeming genuinely curious.

"One was named Maksim. He was great. Until he broke my heart and left for Germany. So I started dating this other guy, but all I could do was compare him to Maksim. And thus, the #1 hit, _Thinking of You_, was born."

"That's interesting." He looked up. "Well, we're here."

The parking was valet, so we got out of the car and headed toward the restaurant. He took my hand, and opened the door for me when we entered the restaurant.

"Table for two?" Edward asked the hostess.

Without looking up, she said, "There's a bit of a wait." Then, she actually looked at us.

"Oh my goodness, Edward Cullen and Bella Swan!" she whispered, and I was glad that she did. I guess she knew we didn't want attention.

"Right this way!" We followed her to a quieter section of the restaurant. We were kind of in the corner, but I didn't mind. It was cozy and private.

"Your server will be right out!" she announced. She left, scurrying off to the kitchen.

"This is a really cute place. What's the name of it?" I asked.

He laughed. "Honestly, I can't pronounce it."

"I wonder how much money we brought in last night," I said.

"That was sort of random," he chuckled.

"Random is my middle name."

"Is it?"

"Naw, it's really Marie. And actually, I'm not that random."

"You know what's really random?" He leaned in.

"What?" I leaned in too.

"Jasper and Emmett watch soap operas," he revealed.

"No way!" I gasped.

He didn't get a chance to answer, because the waitress showed up then.

"Hi guys, I'm Sherrie, and I'm your waitress, and—oh my, your boots are beautiful! Where'd you get them?"

"I have so many boots, I just forget," I admitted.

"Of course, you're cowboy boots girl! I thinks it's adorable that you always wear boots, it's so country-ish! And now you're dating Edward Cullen. I mean, I wasn't sure when I read about it in this magazine, but now I am! You guys are such a beautiful couple! Don't break up like all the Hollywood couples, you guys are great together. Oh, I bet you want to get your order in, silly me, talking your ears off! Okay, well, can I start you off with anything to drink?"

"I'll have a Coke," Edward said. "Bella?"

" Me too," I answered.

"Okay," Sherrie said. She dashed off.

I picked up the menu and scanned it. "So, your birthday's coming up soon, right?"

"Yeah, it's in four days."

"Really? You're going to be twenty-four, right?"

"Yep. Oh, I feel so old compared to you."

"Oh, it's only a couple of years, so it's not like—"

I was cut off by the sound of Britney Spears' _Break the Ice_. My eyes widened and I turned red.

"One second," I said through clenched teeth.

I grabbed my cell out of my purse and flipped it open, finally stopping Britney's voice.

"What?" I hissed.

"Ooh, someone's bitchy today. So what's up, sistah?" Rosalie said.

"I'm on a date. I'll call you back later, okay?"

"Oh my God, you're on a date! With Edward? Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded.

"He's sitting right here, okay? I'll—"

"Okay, I'll talk to you later. But you're spilling everything! Oh my God!"

I hung up on her. "Sorry about that…"

"No, I understand." He looked up at me. "So you're a Britney fan, huh?"

I blushed. "We were talking about your birthday. So what are you doing to celebrate?"

"Nothing really. Me, Jasper and Emmett are driving to the coast for a beach day. I had a big bash for my twenty-first, and I'm still all partied out from it." His face brightened, and I almost saw a light bulb go off over his head. "Hey! You guys should come with us!"

"Come with you? To the beach?" I tried to keep the horror out of my voice. The beach? That would require a swim suit. A bikini. I was sure Rosalie wouldn't have a problem with that, but I would. I loved my body, don't get me wrong, but to wear a bikini in front of my almost-boyfriend?

"Come on, we'll have so much fun." He gave me a sad puppy look. "Please…"

"I'll see if I have to do anything that day, but I'd love to go."

At that point, the waitress brought our drinks out and hot bread. We placed our orders, and then we went back to talking.

"So..."

"So...?"

"I'm just trying to figure out why another guy hasn't snatched you up already. You're so beautiful. And you're a hell of a good kisser." He winked.

"Well, for me, up until recently, staying single was the plan."

"You didn't need a steady man?" he said seriously. I, one the other hand, started giggling hysterically.

"Yeah. I had it covered."

"Until, of course, you discovered..."

"That love gets me every time."

"Your heart just changed your mind."

We started laughing together, enjoying a joke that only two country fans would understand. Or in our case, two country singers. And then I realized, it didn't matter that I barely knew him. It didn't matter that we might be going to fast. I really liked this guy. We had something special together. I wouldn't let him go.

We talked the rest of the night away, about any little thing that came up.

"… And Shaun and Dusty are cousins. They're from Alabama."

"Is Dusty's name really Dusty?"

"No, it's Shaun."

"Huh?"

"Both of them are named Shaun, but it got kinda confusing. So they started calling Dusty that because he's allergic to dust."

I giggled. We had finished dinner and were waiting for the check. Sherrie came and placed the checked in front of Edward. I grabbed it from him.

"What do you think you're doing?" He plucked it away from me before I had the chance to open it.

He swiftly placed money in the folder and handed it to Sherrie. "Keep the change."

"Thank you! It was nice to meet you! You make a darling couple!" She waved to us.

Edward wrapped his arms around my shoulders and led me outside. It was raining. I shivered.

"Here." Edward shrugged out of his jacket and helped me into it.

"Thanks." It was all warm and smelled like Edward. "So how about Jasper? How did you meet him?"

"High school. He and Emmett were on the football team. When we moved to Texas, Emmett was a sophomore, Jasper was a freshman, and I was still in junior high, eighth grade. They became friends after they found out that they had something in common."

"And that was?"

"An obsession with Shaggy."

"The guy from Scooby-Doo?" I asked, confused.

"No, the singer that sings _It Wasn't Me_. I did too, and we all became buddies. When I became a freshman, we formed a rock band. We played lots of gigs. And then when I got a record deal for my country music, I insisted that they would play the music with me."

"You like the singer Shaggy?" I sniggered. We had talked about everything tonight, and we learned a lot about each other. In case it isn't obvious, we were talking about our friends at that point. But somehow, the topic had morphed into liking Shaggy.

"Oh, you be quiet now," he teased.

"Make me," I retorted. I stuck my tongue out at him, and ran away. He caught my waist and hugged my body to his. I shrieked and laughed. He turned me around so that we were face-to-face. Our lips connected, and I felt a surge of satisfaction. _Finally._ I had his lips on mine again.

The perfect end to a perfect night.

**I hope you guys loved that chapter! Please review! **

**I put that little bit in about Aerosmith because I can totally see Edward rocking to them. I always thought Aerosmith was a band that Edward would love. And the whole Def Leppard VS. Aerosmith thing between Edward and Bella may come back. I loved writing that part! Def Leppard and Aerosmith are two of my favorite bands (in another life I was an 80's rocker chick) so it was so fun! **

**I also hope you like the new characters I've been adding to the story. Go vote in my poll, too! **

**I changed some things in this story too. Originally it took place in March and Bella and Edward were both 21 years old. I changed it. It takes place in June, Edward is 23 but will be turning 24 in a few days, and Bella is 22, turning 23 in September. **

**Also, in case you're wondering, the joke with Bella and Edward was that everything they were saying was being quoted from Shania Twain's song _Love Gets Me Every Time_ (which I do not own). I also do not own Shaggy or the song _It Wasn't Me_. (Does anyone else find it funny that Edward, Emmett and Jasper enjoy his music? Because I think I am a genious for coming up with that!)**

**Sorry again for the long wait for this chapter, but this super-long chapter was in the works. It took a while. Was it worth the wait??**

**Please review!!!!! **


	10. Summer Nights

**Hey guys! I'm sorry it took so long to get this new chapter out. But better late than never, right? I had computer problems, and then I had to re-write the original chapter 10 that I started working on because it sucked…**

**Anyway, now it is finally out, so enjoy!**

"Hey, Edward, it's your birthday, we gonna party like it's your birthday," Emmett started singing.

"Don't get started. Please. There's a reason I'm the singer and you're the drummer," Edward said.

"Oh, that's cruel," Emmett said, pretending to be hurt. I laughed.

"Wow, is it hot out here, or is it just me?" Rosalie directed the question toward Emmett.

"No, it's me," Alice butted in. I rolled my eyes. Today was Edward's birthday, and Alice, Rosalie and I had accepted his invitation to go to the beach with him, his brother and Jasper.

"Put some sunscreen on my back, Bella?" Rose pleaded. She'd already stripped out of her clothes and was left in her tiny turquoise, white and brown striped bikini. I, on the other hand, was still in my sundress.

"I'll do it," Emmett offered eagerly.

"Sorry, I don't know you well enough," Rose shook her head.

"What? But I—we—you—back—sunscreen—urgh!"

I laughed and put the sunscreen on her back. I handed her the bottle when I was done.

"Thank you. I have a music video to shoot in a couple of days, and my manager would kill me if I got sunburned."

"You prissy pop stars," Edward said disapprovingly. He shrugged out of his Aerosmith tee before wrapping his arm around me.

Oh. My. God.

I mean, I'd seen him topless in countless album covers, music videos and such, but nothing compared to the real thing.

And the pictures on the album covers didn't wrap their arms around me and kiss my hair.

"Mmm, I do feel the heat now," he said. I blushed, but boldly took of the only thing that kept me from being completely in my blue bikini—my sundress.

I blushed as I felt his gaze on my body. Did he like what he saw?

I had a decent body. I was thin, not very sculpted, like him, but I was thin, and my stomach was flat. My boobs could be bigger. My legs could be more toned. I looked up to see Rosalie's perfect body—

"Do I have to get to know you better, or can I put sunscreen on you?" he asked.

That was a good reaction, I think.

**Edward's POV**

Bella was gorgeous, that's for sure. She had a beautiful body. She was so pale, even though she lived in California, one of the sunniest states. I fought the urge to just reach out and stroke her body—I honestly didn't think she would appreciate that. She handed me the bottle of sunscreen, though, and I got to rub sunscreen all over her subtle curves. I was a lucky man.

The beach we had brought the girls to was our favorite. We were regulars. There was a food shack, and music always blared from the DJ booth. Rosalie had worried that paparazzi would attack, seeing as she was a pop star and was photographed constantly—as country singers, Bella and I didn't have to worry as much. We were only photographed sometimes, and only if we were doing something really "juicy", like going out on a date together—but I assured her that paparazzi had yet to discover this place.

I decided to lie down on the huge picnic blanket. Bella cuddled up to me, kissing my chin.

"Hey, there," I said.

"Hi."

We looked into each others' eyes. Even in the short period of time we'd known each other, I had developed feelings for her. I knew she was a special girl, and I knew that we were a good pair.

"Are we gonna stay here all day, or are we going swimming?" Emmett boomed.

We all instantly reacted to that, and raced to the shore.

An hour later, back on the blanket, Emmett was opening the cooler of drinks we'd brought. "So, we have beer, and we have lemonade infused with alcohol, for you girls," he announced.

"Thanks," Alice said when he passed her one, and then he gave one to Rose. He offered one to Bella, but she shook her head.

"I want the beer," she insisted. Me and the guys stared at her. Rose and Alice didn't look surprised.

"Really?" Emmett asked.

"Yes, really. I don't do the girly fruit drinks. If I'm going to drink, I'm going to do the real stuff. Have you listened to any of my songs? I write them myself, and quite a few talk about my love for beer, and whiskey… Have I ever mentioned sipping a martini?"

Emmett tossed her a can of beer. "Thanks." She flashed him a smile.

She proceeded to snap the can open and gulp down the beer—which I found incredibly sexy. "So you really like to drink?" I asked, incredulous.

"Don't get her started," Rosalie warned. "She holds her liquor like a man. However, after a certain amount, she gets drunk…and then she starts dancing on the bar."

Jasper whistled. Emmett hooted. And I very nearly sprayed Corona all over the place.

"Shut up," Bella shrieked. "That only happened the one—"

"Two," Alice cut in.

"The two times," Bella corrected, unperturbed.

"Any chance there'll be a third?" I asked eagerly.

She laughed, and took another swig of her beer. Again, it was so sexy—not just the fact that she was drinking the beer, but the way she did it was incredible. She was certainly the sexiest girl I'd ever met—and I'd met a lot of sexy girls.

I sighed as I thought about the things I'd done with a lot of those sexy girls—or rather, what I hadn't done. I was now twenty-four, and still a virgin. I'd come so close to having sex multiple times—but I'd stopped it before it happened. Because, you see, I wasn't in love with any of those girls. I couldn't make love to a girl I didn't love. It wouldn't be love making, it would be cheap, meaningless sex.

Bella probably wasn't a virgin. Not everyone had crazy morals like I did. Those morals limited me.

Looking at the beautiful country girl drinking her beer next to me, I sort of felt that those morals didn't limit me for once. They maybe…helped me. They helped me realize that sometimes you have to wait for the best. The best is yet to come, that's what my mother always said.

I'd waited a long time. Hopefully, the best was here.

**Bella's POV**

So far, the day had been great. No paparazzi bothered us, which was great. Usually when we hit the beach, pictures were constantly being taken of Rosalie, and since I was there with her, of me too. Elsa, my manager, had warned me that if I was alone, the paparazzi would unlikely bother me. However, if I was with other celebrities, I might want to be on my guard. I had stupidly forgotten about this advice when I went on my "date" with Edward. Not the formal dinner date, the one where we had gotten coffee and went for a walk, and then photographers had shown up.

But today, I could do whatever I wanted and not care about my picture showing up all over the media.

We were all lying on our picnic blanket, soaking up the sun. The DJ guy, who sat up high in his DJ booth, played tons of my songs, Edward's songs, and Rosalie's songs too. Probably because he had seen us here. He played the song that had made Rosalie famous, _Genie_ _in a Bottle_, the song I had played last year at the Celebrity Telethon from my second album, _Outside My Window_, and one of Edward's newer songs, from his last album, _Hey Batter Batter_.

All of Edward's music had more of a rock & roll edge to it than any other country musician. He was known for it, and this song wasn't any different. After meeting Edward, I understood why his music would be like that. The guy was a huge rock fan, but he claimed he was a cowboy. He combined the two things to make some really awesome tunes.

I drank up the last drops of my third beer, then took Edward's just as he was about to put the can to his lips and drank what was left of it. I smiled innocently when I was done, and he responded by kissing me.

Kissing Edward felt so right, so natural. I'd never felt anything like this with a guy. He was honestly everything I wanted in a man. I was falling, and I was falling hard. I didn't even have to try.

"So, my manager called me this morning," he began. "To wish me a happy birthday. And… to remind me that we have a song to write."

"Oh my gosh, that's right! I practically forgot! Crap. I don't even have any ideas. We need to meet up soon and get started."

"That's a good idea. When?"

"Tomorrow. Come to my place. We can start there, and then hopefully we can figure something out. Are you free?"

"Yes. I have nothing to do, so it would work."

"Great." I kissed his cheek.

"Awwww," Rosalie cooed. "You guys are so cute!"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm getting hot again. Let's go back in the water, Edward."

"Sure thing." He sprang up from the blanket and took my hand as we started heading to the edge of the ocean.

"Hold on a sec, Bella. Elsa just texted me," Alice said.

"What does it say?"

"Umm, you have an interview and a photo shoot with _Goddess_ magazine in three days. They want you to be next month's cover girl. Hold on, let me make sure you're free that day." Alice checked my schedule on the phone. She had two phones: one that she used for herself, and one that she used for me as my assistant. Everything important about my career was on that phone. Alice managed to have me organized so well. Probably because she was the one that organized everything.

It was a fair trade. Alice lived rent-free in my loft, and in return she took care of all the famous person stuff.

"Yep, we're good. Okay, I'm texting her to confirm it. Go play with Edward."

"Thanks Alice."

We left for the ocean again, and waded in up to our hips, hand in hand.

"Why is Alice your assistant if she has a job?" he asked.

"It was the deal we had when she moved down to LA with me. She would be my assistant, and she would live in my loft with me without paying rent. After she got her job, she still didn't quit being my assistant because I need her. I would be a lost case without her, and she knows it. Eventually I know she'll quit and offer to pay her own half of the rent, and I'll let her, because it will make her happy, and I'll have to learn how to do it myself. But now she's happy to do it for me. Being organized is one of her many talents."

Edward moved so that I stood in front of him, and he placed kisses on my bare shoulders. I giggled and turned around so I could kiss his own muscular, broad shoulders. The waves splashed us with water, and I shrieked. We laughed.

"It's so beautiful out here," I noted, wrapping my arms around his neck, looking around at all the families here with their kids. I wanted to have kids so badly. I'd wanted babies ever since I was young. Not just kids, though. I wanted, more than anything, a family. To live in a house with my husband and kids and just be happy. I wanted a big family, too. Maybe because all my life it had just been me and my mom or my dad. I never even had a complete family, with two parents, and I'd never had a sibling. So I guess my desire made sense.

"I wouldn't say that. Not after seeing you," he murmured.

"You're too sweet. It's quite charming, actually. Do you smooth-talk everyone like that?"

"No. I don't smooth-talk people. What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I don't, actually."

"Neither do I."

He laughed. "You're silly. It's part of what makes you so cute."

I wrapped my legs around his waist so I could kiss him.

"Where did you learn to kiss like that?" he asked breathlessly when we pulled apart for air.

"It's one of my talents," I joked. "You're an excellent kisser yourself."

"Why, thank you." He sweetly pressed his lips to mine again. "You know Bella, you really are amazing," he said seriously.

I blushed. "Thanks."

"Can I ask you something?"

I nodded.

"Um, well, I was wondering, about, you know, you and me and I wanted to know if, er, well…"

"Edward, spit it out."

He took a deep breath. "I know this sounds lame, but… Will you be my girlfriend?" He said it so quickly I almost didn't hear what he said.

Almost.

"Of course!" I replied. "I would love to be your girlfriend."

"Right, then. It's official. You are my girlfriend." His eyes lit up. "Awesome! You're my girlfriend!"

I laughed. I'd always had a crush on Edward. He was my celebrity crush, as Alice called it, because even celebrities can have a celebrity crush. I was thrilled it was turning into a real relationship. I honestly hadn't expected it to. I'd hoped, but I was expecting him to either be a jackass, or just not show an interest in me. But apparently, I had been his celebrity crush too. That was a good thing, because now, he was my boyfriend.

Oh, crap. Edward Cullen was my boyfriend. I smiled and kissed him. It was easy, because my legs were still wrapped around his waist, bringing my lips right up to his level.

"What was that for?"

"For being the best boyfriend in the whole world."

"Bella, I've been your boyfriend for exactly four seconds."

I gave him a carefree smile. "You're still the best."

**I hope you liked it. Anyway, next chapter Bella and Edward will be working on their duet, plus lots of things will be explained in full detail, like why Bella always wears cowboy boots and how Bella and Edward get inspiration for writing songs. **

**I want to know what you guys think, and what you want to happen. Also, if any of you have song requests for Bella and Edward's song? It doesn't have to be a duet, just something that you think relates to Edward and Bella and can be broken up into two parts. So review all your thoughts and ideas!**

**I don't own **_**Genie In A Bottle**_** by Christina Aguilera, **_**Outside My Window**_** by Sarah Buxton, or **_**Hey Batter Batter **_**by Trent Tomlinson. They are great songs though, so I'm borrowing them and giving them to Bella, Edward and Rosalie. Seeing as they are fictional characters, I don't think anyone will mind. **


	11. Photograph

**Okay, so as promised, I've gotten the next chapter out. It's short, yes, but it is something. I hope you enjoy it. It's not much, but it's cute, and it promises a fun next chapter!  
WARNING: This chapter again makes fun of the Jonas Brothers. I do not own them, and thank God for that. I would've strangled them by now, and legions of fan girls would have murdered me. LOL.  
Well, here it goes:**

**Edward's POV**

I was sitting on Bella's couch, her cowboy boot-clad legs in my lap.

I'd been here since morning, and so far, we'd made zero progress with our song. Okay, that's a lie. We had a couple of notes, and we strug them together, and we now had about ten seconds of music. But other than that, no lyrics, no beats or harmonies or _anything_ that makes a song good.

We made out for a bit before, drank some beer, watched GAC.

"Why do you wear cowboy boots all the time?" I asked idly.

She shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I like them a lot. They're so pretty and awesome looking...they're just my style. And I don't have to listen to Alice on how my footwear is _sooo unstylish_. I don't get Manolos shoved in my face anymore. Cowboy boots are my trademark. That's just how it was when I first started out, and now it's all I wear. They're comfy, too."

"Interesting..."

"Are you thinking about writing a song about cowboy boots? Because I already have one about cowboy boots on my second album."

"I know that..." A new thought struck me. We weren't doing anything of interest right now, so... "Wanna make out again?"

"God! You are such a guy," she shook her head and got up to get some more beer.

"What do you expect me to be, a Jonas Brother?" I retorted.

"I met the Jonas Brothers, you know. They were kind of boring. One of them kept checking out my ass."

"You do have a nice ass... But I thought the Jonas Brothers were gay!"

"Edward?"

"Yes, Bella?"

"It's impolite to tell a woman that she has a nice ass after being her boyfriend for one day. 'Kay?"

"Okay. But it's still the truth."

She giggled, smacking her denim-covered behind. Her cell phone rang. This time, _Oops! I Did It Again_ played out of her phone.

Ha ha. My girlfriend (Oh, yeah! I said girlfriend!) was a Britney Spears fanatic.

Yeah, I know. I can be _so _immature.

**Bella's POV**

"Hello?" I said into my phone.

"Oh! Bella, darling, a am so sorry! So very sorry... I can't believe...."

"Elsa!" I shouted my manager's name. "Calm down and tell me what exactly why your apologizing."

"About the photo shoot, honey. With _Goddess_ magazine? Didn't Alice tell you?"

"Yes, she did. What's the big deal?"

"They called two months ago, and I told them you would do it, and then I forgot to tell you or Alice. I've been very distracted lately, about, you know, Albert." She said his name a bit quietly. Albert was Elsa's third marriage gone wrong. They were in the middle of a divorce. I knew that Elsa had really loved Albert--but it just hadn't worked out. I used to tease them all the time because they were Elsa and Albert—just like Einstein and his wife. It was quite funny. Elsa had been so happy with him. I even sang at their wedding. I couldn't imagine what it would be like, to get a divorce—just like my parents. Because of it, Elsa had been a bit disoriented. I didn't care though—as long as everything got done and nothing extremely important was forgotten, I was fine.

"Elsa, it doesn't matter. I don't care that you forgot. You told me, and I'm going in to do it in two days."

"Yes, but now you only have two days to prepare. I feel bad."

"Elsa, you have to know that my preparations for a photo shoot consist of washing my hair and shaving my legs. No biggie," I assured her.

"Okay. Oh, and I have been getting some calls from magazines and gossip sites wanting to know about you and your relationship status. I also read a very interesting article about you and a certain handsome young man in _Zone._ Any comments?"

My eyes darted to where Edward sat on the couch. "He's sitting right here in front of me," I told her.

"So it's true! You're dating that delicious man? Great! You two make a sexy couple. Gossip magazines will be all over it. It's good publicity. And you'll have a helluva good time dating that stud muffin!"

Stud muffin? What the hell?

"So what should I tell anyone who wants a quote from Bella's rep, huh?" she continued.

"Tell them... I don't know. Or care, honestly. Look, I have to go now," I said. Edward had gotten up and was looking around my loft at this point.

"Okay. Have fun. I'll call you later," she said.

"Sure, sure," I replied. It was a habit I'd picked up from one of my friends in Forks, Jacob Black. Jacob now lived in Florida with his wife, another one of my best friends, Leah Clearwater. They were completely famous, even more so than me. Leah an Oscar-winning actress, Jacob playing on the Miami Heat team. I would have to call them soon. I missed them.

"Watcha doing?" I asked my boyfriend. I smiled I couldn't believe Edward was my boyfriend. It seemed so.... surreal.

"Reading this article about you," he answered, pointing to one of the first articles that had ever been written about me. It was titled _Why Bella Swan Is So Cool_. Seriously. It was a really flattering article, and Alice had printed it out and gotten it laminated for me, framed it, and hung it on the wall.

"So you started out in this business when you were just nineteen, huh? That's impressive. And you've always written your songs by yourself. That's pretty amazing," he said appreciatively.

"Nah, it's nothing. It's just something I like to do, and I got lucky enough to be discovered... and now I'm making money off of it. And I'm having a blast. But...I'm not amazing."

"So modest," he shook his head. "Well, we gotta get started writing if we're gonna make our dinner reservation for tonight," he said casually, flopping on the couch.

"What? What dinner reservations? You didn't say anything about a dinner reservation! Where?"

"I dunno, this place Ryan told me about. It's called The Liv, I think. He told me the food was pretty good, a lot of famous people go there... They have a great steak, too. I've never been there, but it sounded impressive."

"The Liv?" I repeated in a squeak. "The Liv? As in, the most popular restaurant for celebrities? The papparazi magnet? Edward, you're taking me there? What happened to that cute Italian restaurant you took me to the last time with the name we couldn't pronounce? That was so more my style than the completely glamorous, stuck-up Liv! Don't you know me at all by now? We've known each other for what, almost three weeks, and still don't know be by now?" I was yelling at him at this point.

"I don't know you at this point, no! Because I've only known you for three weeks! I'm still _getting_ to know you now! So, what's wrong with The Live?" he inquired. He got up and gathered me into his arms.

I pulled away. "The Liv," I corrected. "I just don't like it. If you go there, there is no privacy, no normalcy. You're basically giving yourself in to the paparazzi so that everyone knows your business. I went there with Rosalie's brother Raymond, we were going to meet up with Rose, and everyone thought we were dating. Except he went and told the tabloids the truth before any rumors could spread. He's gay." Suddenly, a thought struck me. "Oh my gosh! Edward! We're going to The Liv! Everyone will see us there, and we can finally confirm that we are dating. You're a genius!"

I kissed him on his lips. His eyes were wide, staring at me in shock. "Women," he muttered.

I giggled. "Come on, let's get to work."

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**I know not much, but it's leaving the door open for a long, juicy next chapter! Please review!** **Also, if you have any song recommendations at all, please tell me! Also, if you have any songs for Rosalie, I would appreciate that. I think she might do some Lady Gaga soon. Maybe Cascada. Did I spell that right?**

**Please review! I want to know what you think! Thank you all for being so patient with me.**


	12. You Make Me Smile

**I'm so, so, so, so, so, so SORRY!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't updated in forever and I feel so bad.** **As usual, Bellandedward4evr, my awesome homie, reminded me to update. Well, more like harrassed, but I needed it. I'm just not feeling this story as much as I was when I started it, but I think I'm getting back into it. DO NOT FEAR, I WILL COMPLETE THIS STORY!!!!! I would never let you guys, my awesome readers, be left hanging. I already have it all planned out. I really hope you'll forgive me for being such a bitch and not updating. Enjoy the chpater. I know it's short, but hopefully you'll like it!!  
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**Bella's POV**

I played a few notes, then looked up at Edward, waiting for critique.

"That's really catchy, actually. Good for the chorus." He hummed what I had just played. "Mmm, change it to this." He picked up his guitar pick and almost mimicked what I had played, but he changed the last few notes.

"That sounds way better, you're right." I nodded, bitng my lip, thinking. "God, this is so stressful."

"You know we don't have to finish the song today. Just get a good start on it. As of now, we have no deadline. Maybe we should delay working on it until we're really inspired," he suggested.

"Yeah, maybe." I sighed. "What's Emmett up to right now?"

"Probably hanging out with Rosalie Hale. He spends every freaking second with her, undercover, whatever the hell that means."

"Really?" I stared at him incredulously for a second.

"What?"

"It's just that Rosalie hasn't been able to hang out with me and Alice for a while. The last time she called was five days ago, which is a record for Rose. But I should have known. She does this when she's smitten. But it's also the longest she's been in a relationship with a guy. See, Rose goes through men so fast that the tabloids don't even try to keep up. She'll probably let them know she has a new boyfriend soon."

"But tonight, everyone will know we're dating."

"Well, yeah. I mean, the photographers flock around The Liv all the time because that's where all the celebrities go on dates. I hate it there."

"Well it's good to know you're so excited for our date tonight," he muttered.

"Oh, Edward, don't take it personally. I'd just much rather stay here with you and snuggle up on the couch and watch crappy VH1 reality shows," I told him, throwing my head back against the leather material. I closed my eyes and turned my head. When I fluttered my eyes open, he was right there. He caught my lips in a kiss.

I pulled away ever so slightly so that our lips were merely touching. I felt his breath on my face. He smelled like mint.

"Mmm," I whispered. I looked into his warm green eyes. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"I was just about to ask the same question."

"Looks like I read your mind," I said.

"It's crazy. For real. I mean, I thought you were hot the second I saw a picture of you. And I worship you as an artist. You're just so purely talented and, I don't know, _moving_. It's impossible to describe the way you let people see into your soul through your music. And you're beautiful. God, you're beautiful. I feel so lucky that I was able to meet you, and that something really special has happened between us." He looked into my eyes, which were tearing up, and then looked down. "Wow, that was really soap opera material, wasn't it?"

I giggled. "Yeah, pretty much. But you summed up the way _I_ feel about _you_."

"What I can't believe is that we didn't meet sooner."

"We are most definitely a match made in hill-billy heaven." To prove my point, I grabbed his beer from the table (I'd finished mine) and chugged the rest down.

"Hey! Hill-billy is not the politically correct term, missy. We southern folk prefer, well, southern folk! And none of that hick stuff either!" He said it with a retarded, over-dramatic accent.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing. Soon he joined in, too.

"All right," I announced when we'd recovered. "We need to get something of our song. A title, a lyric, even a solid note combination! Come on. We've got lots of work to do."

"Right." Edward straightened up. "If you're really serious about that, I'll need to go get some more beer."

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**Hope you liked it!! I know it wasn't much, but, you know, it's something. PLEASE REVIEW!** **I apologize in advance if I don't update soon. It's just that I have a lot going on. I never forget about my stories, it's just that I don't have much time. Still, REVIEW THIS CHAPTER!!! Getting reviews helps me know that there are people who read my stories, and that I'm not retarded for actually writing them. **

**You guys are the coolest readers ever for putting up with me, and I thank you so much for that. **


	13. I Think I'm Falling For You

**This is for Bellandedward4evr, because I love her!!!! Thanks for all the reviews. Again, sorry you had to wait, but just put up with me!! I promise, it'll pay off. Especially because this chapter is no ordinary chapter. It's juicy!!! And pretty long, if I do say so myslef. Get ready, because RTC is taking a whole new spin!! Hoepfully you'll love this chapter as much as I do!!!**

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A couple weeks later, the big headline on the cover of _Zone_ magazine read: **Bella's Hot Date!** Can you get any cheesier? But, it put all speculation to rest, as the cover also featured a picture of me holding hands with Edward, arriving at the Liv. Inside were more pictures. There was one that I had not planned on being there, that I hadn't even noticed was taken. Edward had one hand on my waist, and the other held my own hand. He was looking down, and I was giving him a light peck on the mouth. The actual article read:

_Lately, many rumors have been surfacing, claiming that country cuties Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are an item. Only fueling to that are pictures taken a few weeks ago of the two strolling in LA, first brought to you by _Zone_. Now, the relationship has been confirmed. _

_On June 21st, Bella and Edward were photographed at the Liv in LA, holding hands and cuddling. "They seemed to be having a great time. They talked and laughed a lot, and kissed so many times! They seem really into each other," a witness says. _

_An insider close to the pair says that the two are "really close. They've only begun their relationship, but already you can see that they care about each other deeply."_

_The insider also was a backstage witness at the Celebrity Telethon, at which both stars performed, and saw the two snuggling, though at that time, they were only in the beginning stage of the relationship. "I saw them, and they were very attached to one another. Bella is just about the sweetest girl I've ever met. She seems crazy about him, from what I can tell. And they make the cutest couple!" _

_Though Bella and Edward haven't been spotted together very often, they are still very much together. "It's no secret that they like each other a lot. And their date at the Liv was certainly not their first. They were very forward and didn't hesitate to take part in public displays of affection. Half of the time they were making out, in front of everyone. They didn't seem to care who saw," says a waitress from the Liv. _

_The night wasn't over for the singers, even after they left the restaurant. The two stopped for ice cream at a small deli, and then headed back for Bella's loft, where, reportedly, Edward spent the night. _

_Though that last rumor may or may not be true, Bella's rep does confirm the relationship, stating that, "They are a couple." _

Everything in the article was true. We did make out the whole night. He was too sexy to resist. We did stop for ice cream, still clad in the formal wear we wore to the Liv, giggling the whole time, because we had just been making out in the car. And yes, Edward did stay the night. It's not what you think, though. We didn't even sleep in my bed. We were feeding each other French vanilla ice cream from the carton and watching old movies and we ended up crashing on the couch.

We had so much fun. He'd stripped off everything except for his plaid boxers, and grabbed a whole bunch of soft, fluffy comforters from the closet and threw them all over the couch, so we could be comfortable. He'd looked pointedly at me, still in the strapless lavender dress I'd worn to dinner.

"Planning to take that thing off anytime soon? It looks awfully uncomfortable." He smirked. I was awestruck at the sight of him, making himslef at home on my couch, taking his clothes off and all. I mean, Alice told me she was going out with some co-workers and wouldn't be home till late, so we had the whole place to ourselves. But still. Officially we'd been going out for a day. _One day._ But I knew he wasn't expecting anything. So, I figured, oh, what the hell?

"Sure," I smirked seductively. I tossed him the remote. "Find something to watch. I'm just going to change into something more comfortable."

And that I did. A tiny t-shirt and my blue boy shorts. _Just _my boy shorts. Now it was his turn to be awestruck.

That night had been amazing. We were getting really sexy and intimate, and I was wondering if he thought we were going to, erm, get up to anything. He probably thought I'd already done it. I wasn't going to tell him anything. Some day, when we did it, I'd tell him. Yeah, _when_. Because I realized that he was going to be the one that had sex with me.

Is it slutty to say that I can't wait?

***

Anyway, that was about two weeks ago. Now, reading the _Zone_ article with Alice, I have to say I'm quite happy. The whole reason I let him take me to the Liv was because it was the place you went to when you wanted to be seen. No privacy. Absolutely a perfect way to reveal to the world who you're dating. The article and the accompanying pictures were just right. It was the way I wanted my relationship with Edward to be seen by the media. That we were into each other and couldn't keep our hands off of each other. This way, no one would make a huge deal out of us holding hands or something.

"Is the chick from the Celebrity Telethon, you know the one who we met when we were shopping? Is that her quote?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, it is. I know because I had Elsa call her. Mekah, her name is. Mekah is going to be my 'insider'," I informed Alice.

She raised her eyebrows. "Meaning?"

"Meaning that now that I have a boyfriend, the media's going to want to know what's going on. You know how in magazines there are always friends and insiders spilling personal shit? A lot of times, that insider is a friend who's being told what to say and when to say it. Of course, not always, but Elsa suggested I have someone who could go to the tabs and talk. You know, give info they're begging for. Elsa thinks it's good that I'll be getting more attention because of this. You know Elsa, always concerned with the business aspect."

"Elsa told Mekah to say that you're the sweetest girl ever?" Alice inquired, doubtful.

"No. I think she added that in. She's so nice. She really likes me. And it's cool having a friend who doesn't have any responsibilities, you can just talk to about the stupidest shit, and they'll listen."

Alice took a sip of her steaming hot tea and examined the article carefully. "How did they find out that Edward spent the night?"

"I don't know..." I felt my cheecks burning at the memory of Alice coming home and seeing me and Edward sleeping on the couch. She didn't even do anything, just went right to her own room and went to bed. When we woke up, Alice was already up, making breakfast. She'd chirped, "Morning, love birds! Had a fun night?" Worse, she'd seen that Edward and I were clad in nothing but underwear. How humiliating.

I changed the subject. "You're coming out with us tonight, aren't you?"

"Oh, most definitely. I need a break."

I could tell. Alice, first thing in the morning, though beautiful, was different from Alice after she got dressed and put her make-up on. She had bags under her eyes, she was paler than usual. And, the real thing that clued me into the fact that Alice was in need of a diversion was that _she was wearing sweatpants_. Sure, they were fitted white capri sweatpants, and even though they were only worn for pajamas, they were sweats. Alice never wore sweats. _Ever_.

So we were all going to this hot new club. Me and Edward, Rose and Emmett, Alice, Jasper. It was going to be fun, and I can actually say I mean it and that I'm--surprise!--excited to go dancing.

Rose and Emmett are still going strong. Edward and I went on a double date with them. It was nice, it really was. Even though I _could _do wothout Rosalie telling me every little detail about her sex life with him, I'm glad she's finally met a man who's kept her interest this long.

And poor Jasper. He's still hoping Alice will notice him. The few times we've all hung out, he's tried flirting with her, but she's positively oblivious.

My phone vibrated from the coffee table. Lazily, I reached out and grabbed it.

"Hello?" I answered groggily, not in the mood to acknowledge other members of society yet.

"Bella? Hey baby, what's up?"

"Edward! How is it possible? Are you telling me you actaully woke up before noon?" Over the two weeks we'd been dating, I'd learned that Edward wasn't a morning person.

"Hey, shut up, or I won't ask you to come over today."

"Why am I coming over today?"

"Emmett and Jasper are out, so we have the place to ourselves. I thought we could make lunch here and then go to the beach. Just us."

"I would love to, baby! What time?"

"Like now?"

"Okay, I'll be there. I'll bring my new bathing suit."

"Okay. You do that. I'm not making any promises not to stare, though."

"Shut up!"

"Yeah, love you, too. I'll see you soon, then. Bye, babe."

"Uhh, yeah, okay, umm, bye..." I hung up.

"Bella? Bella, sweetie. Why do you look like you've just seen a ghost?" Alice's eyebrows were scrunched up in concern and confusion.

What was I going to tell her? That Edward had nonchalantly and pretty much sarcastically mentioned that he loved me? He didn't actually mean it that way. Still, it made me feel...I'm not sure how I felt. But I liked it. I liked hearing the words "love you" fall casually from his lips. And I thought, I could get used to that.

"Nothing, Alice. Don't worry. I'm going to the beach with Edward today. Which pair of shades should I wear, do you think?"

***

Edward's loft was everything you would expect a bachelor pad to be. Band posters hung up everywhere, clothes thrown everywhere, and a huge refridgerator over loaded with food. Edward's own room was different. One wall wasn't really a wall at all. It was a sliding door made of glass that led to his balcony. So it was a calming, relaxng room. Open and light. He had a huge sleigh bed, made from dark, almost black wood. The walls were a forrest green color, but lighter. I'd been to his place a couple of times, but we'd never been alone. Emmett and Jasper had always been there.

But now, things were different. Emmett and Jasper weren't here, and there was something I wanted to do...

I sank down onto the bed. "Come lie down with me."

Once Edward was settled, I crawled on top of him, so I was lying on his chest. I pressed my lips to his. He wrapped his arms around me and attached our mouths together. I tangled my hands in his hair, and he did the same to mine.

"God, Bella. You amaze me. You're amazing. I, just... Wow."

I kissed his nose, satisfied now that we had officially made out on his bed.

"Come on. Let's get everything ready. I _do_ want to go to the beach."

"Do we have to go? Can't we stay here?" Edward pleaded.

"But, baby, don't you want to see my bikini? It's red," I singsonged.

"On second thought, let's get to the beach." He stood up and looked me up and down. "Now."

We didn't go to the same beach we'd gone to last time. Though this beach was a place the paparazzi frequented, it was closer, and now that we were going public, did it matter if our pictures ended up on the pages of _Zone_?

Predictably, the photographers spotted us and got a few pictures of us eating strawberries on our picnic blankets. But that was _boring_. I decided to ham it up for the cameras. I threw my arms around Edward and planted a big kiss on his cheek. He surprised me by catching my mouth in a kiss. A nice, open-mouthed kiss caught by the paparazzi. I wasn't upset by that. I didn't care. It was actually fun having my picture taken by the paparazzi, because they were pictures of me with Edward.

It was a hot, sunny day, and I wanted to splash around with Edward. "Baby, let's go for a dip. Come on." I announced it so all the photographers could hear, and they followed us to the water. I wrapped myslef around Edward.

"You're a photo whore, huh? I never would've guessed," he whispered in my ear.

"No. I hate having my picture taken. But... I guess it's fun with you."

"I like that I can show you off. Now, you really want to make headlines?"

"Oh, yes! There's nothing I would love more!" I squealed in a high falsetto. I shook my head. "I think we've given them enough for one day."

"Maybe, maybe not. Whaddya say we really give them something to talk about?"

He lifted me up so my arms and legs were wrapped around him. And then, with waves splashing all around us, he kissed me, deeply, longingly, passionately.

I have to say, I'm going to be beet red when those photos come out.

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**Ooh!! I told you it was going to be juicy! So Bella and Edward are deepening their relationship! Fun! I loved this, and I hope you did too. Reviews make me happy and might possibly make me update sometime this week... What do you want to happen next? Plus, there's still time for song suggestions! Thiugh I think I've found what I'm going to use, there's always the chance you'll suggest something better.....**

**What do you think of the chapter?? Review!! Review, please?? **

**The next few chapters will wow you, for real! So stay tuned, because things are getting really heated up around here!! **


	14. Pour Some Sugar On Me

**Hey guys! Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated. But that's okay, because this chapter is gonna be hotter than hot. Twists and turns you never saw coming are headed your way...**

**Hopefully, you'll like it and REVIEW! Whether it be good, bad or just suggestions on where you'd like me to take this, I'd really like to hear your feedback. Here's the chapter:**

**Bella's POV**

Later that night, Alice and I made our way into the club. It was crowded, with celebrities and non-celebrities alike. Seeing as it was _the_ hottest spot of the moment, you had to be someone to get in. I was definitely someone.

"Rosalie just texted me. She and Emmett are at the bar." Alice had to practically yell in my ear in order for me to hear over the noise.

We found the bar, and sure enough, there was Rosalie, sipping a martini while Emmett downed his beer next to her.

"Hey guys," I greeted them.

"Bella-Bon! Ali!" She wrapped us in a hug.

"Hey Emmett!" I gave him a hug, too. "How're you? Where's Edward?"

"On his way with Jasper, Shaun and Dusty," he answered.

"Shaun and Dusty are coming, too? I didn't know that. I thought it would just be the six of us," Alice said.

"Well, they sort of invited themselves. I don't mind, Shaun and Dusty are cool."

"Oh. Yeah, that's cool," Alice replied, a little...tense. An undecipherable expression crossed her face. Like, nervousness mixed with pissed off-ness.

Just then, the DJ switched songs. The sounds of_ Break Your Heart _now filled the room.

"I love this song!" Rosalie squealed. "Come on, babycakes! Let's dance!"

We made our way to the dance floor, leaving Emmett behind at the bar.

**Edward's POV**

There was a long line of people waiting to get into the club. Obviously, they weren't anyone special and therefore were not granted access to the club.

Some of them recognized me, and started shouting my name. I waved pleasantly, even though I was so not in the mood.

Some photographers snapped my picture. I was pretty much sick of having my picture taken. I'd spent the whole day making out with Bella in the ocean while being photographed. It was sort of fun, but still, at this moment I just wanted to go in and see Bella and the gang and just have a hell of a good time.

I was ushered into the club immediately, with Jasper, Shaun and Dusty trailing behind.

"So, who'd ya say is coming along?" Shaun asked.

"Em, and Rose, and Bella obviously. And Alice. Remember? Short, black hair? Hyper?"

"Oh, _her_." He scrunched his nose up, as if just the thought of Alice disgusted him. What was wrong with him?

"We hang out with her last week, and you didn't seem to have a problem then. Why? You don't like Alice?"

"No, she's fine, it's just that..." Shaun lowered his voice. "After we all hung out last week at that lounge, well, I... kinda hooked up with her..."

"_WHAT_?" Jasper roared.

"What? She was cute, not to mention the only girl there without a boyfriend. She was sorta drunk, though... Anyway, I think she thought I was interested in her as like, more than just a sexual encounter, which, I was so _not_. You know how I am. So I sorta wanted to avoid seeing her whenever possible."

"Shaun," I told him, stopping just outside the club entrance. "Alice is my girlfriend's best friend. And you're one of my closer friends. Not seeing Alice is not an option when you're hanging out with us."

"Why would ya do that, Shaun? Really? You had to go for Alice?" Jasper was pretty pissed off. I mean, Shaun was his friend too. Guys don't react well when one of their friends has sex with the girl they have their eye on.

"I'm saw-ry, Jasper. Why do you care so much?"

"I like Alice, dingle-berry!"

"Dingle-berry?" Dusty, who had been silent the whole time, (in typical Dusty nature) questioned Jasper's choice of words.

"So?"

"So? Now there's no chance," he said.

"Dude, you are so stupid when it comes to girls. You and Eddie. But Eddie's got his girl. But listen, use this to your advantage. The girl will pro'lly be uncomfortable around me. So, ask her if she wants to step outside, go off to the bar, by yourselves. To get away from me. Be all comforting, and charming, and she'll be eating outta your hand."

"Shaun..." Jasper said warningly.

"Let's just go in," I shook my head, not wanting to deal with this.

Shaun was so... _stupid_. He always had been. It was something we'd all come to accept. Him being a moronic jackass. Because we were friends, and more importantly, bandmates. But this? I didn't know if I could deal with this. Alice and Bella were so close. And Shaun _had_ to go and sleep with her! I was sure Bella knew about this. But why had she neglected to say anything to me? We'd been together all day. I was sure Bella would've brought it up. She _should_ have told me, so I would know not to bring Shaun.

Unless...

She didn't know.

Oh, this was going to be a great night.

I tried to clear my head of everything that didn't have to do with me and my relationship with Bella.

Once I was in the club, I found Emmett and Alice having drinks at the bar. Once she saw us, she narrowed her eyes and left, taking her drink with her.

"Jazz, go," I urged, nudging him in the direction Alice had gone.

"Okay, okay," he mumbled, following her.

"Edward, my brotha," Emmett greeted me, holding up his fist for a knuckle touch.

"Where's Bella?" I demanded to know.

"Chill, bro. She's dancing with Rosalie."

"Bella said she couldn't dance!"

"Well, she can. Just, she keeps tripping. But it's kinda sexy. Take a look." Emmett pointed to the center of the room, where Bella and Rose where dominating the dance floor. A bottle of beer in her hand, Bella had her back to Rose, and they were grinding on each other. Bella had her eyes closed, a little smile on her lips. She opened her eyes to take a drink of beer, and our gazes met. She tore herself away from Rose and ran into my arms.

"Edward!" she cried, like she hadn't seen me in ages. As if we hadn't spent the whole day together.

"Hey, babe, you look gorgeous," I said, kissing her ear. And she did. She was wearing this tight black dress and black cowboy boots, obviously. She looked really hot. I spun her around. Her ass looked incredible in that dress.

"Come on, baby! Let's go dance," she said, dragging me to the dance floor.

And we did. We partied the rest of the night away, dancing together. It was so hot. Her hips never left mine.

At about one o'clock in the morning, Bella signaled that she wanted to leave.

"Is something wrong?" I asked her, worried.

"No, I just want to be alone. With you." She looked into my eyes.

"Like, where do you want to go?" I was nervous now. Did she want to go home to...?

"Can we go back to my place?"

"Sure." I sent Em and Jazz text messages to let them know I was going over to Bella's.

**Bella's POV**

"Baby, is something wrong?" Edward asked, concerned.

"Not at all, " I mumbled. We were back at my place, snuggled up in my bed. In. My. Bed!

"You've just been kinda quiet. What's on your mind?"

"Nothing, it's just... Everytime I would come home from a club, I would feel sad. Because I would come home, and it would just be me and Alice. I'm twenty-two, Edward, and in a few months I'll be twenty-three."

"So?" he asked. "I'm not sure where you're going with this."

"I was single. Twenty-two, a hugely famous singer, but single. All I ever wanted was to be... wanted, you know? I'm not saying this to scare you off. I really hope you don't run from me... but I'm a virgin, Edward." I began to cry. "I'm pathetic. I've only had two boyfriends before you. My first boyfriend ran off. My second really didn't count. He was an ass. And you know what's even more pathetic? I want kids. Badly. I wanted to be a young mother. Not too young, but young enough. I always thought I'd be pregnant by this age. I don't know. I'm pathetic, aren't I?"

"Bella." He took my face in his hands. "Don't ever say you're pathetic." He took a deep breath. "The truth is, Bella, I am too."

"What?" I said, incredulous.

"I'm a virgin too."

I stared at him, and then smacked him across the face.

"Don't lie to me! Don't make fun of me, you asshole!"

"Bella! I'm telling the truth. I've seriously never... Okay, I've fooled around. _A lot._ But have I actually done it? Never. I didn't know what was wrong with me. So many times, I stopped. I was about to, then I found I couldn't continue. Because the girl, she wasn't the right girl. I wanted to have sex with the right person. If anything, I'm the pathetic one. I'm twenty-four, hun."

I giggled. "Twenty-three is just as bad."

"But you're not twenty-three yet, are you?"

I shook my head.

"Bella... Twenty-two is a whole lot less pathetic than twenty-three."

I nodded. "I agree entirely."

"So...?"

"I think both of us have waited long enough."

**Edward's POV**

I woke up the next morning to find a naked Bella in my arms. Memories from last night flooded into my mind. I couldn't believe it. We'd done it. We'd had sex. And... we also had admitted that we loved each other. I know. Two huge steps had been taken in just one night. But it had been the best night of my life.

I found my boxers and went to the kitchen. I could make some coffee, some toast, maybe a bagel. I wasn't a great cook, but I wanted to at least try to make breakfast for Bella.

My Bella. My beautiful, amazing Bella.

I enetered the kitchen, and then clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle a scream. Because there was Jasper, clad only in _his_ boxers.

"_Jasper_?" I couldn't believe it.

"Edward! Hey man, how's it goin'?" He had a huge grin on his face.

"When did you get here?"

"A couple hours after you left. Ali said you two were already asleep, and apparently both of you sleep like logs."

"Ali?" I questioned his nickname for her.

"Jazzy!" Speak of the devil, and the devil shall appear.

"Hey, darlin'," Jasper said as Alice ran into his arms. He picked her up and twirled her around.

"Edward! Did you and Bella have a nice night?" She giggled.

"Yeah, it was great," I answered.

"Good! So did we, right Jazzy?"

"Mhmm," was his only response. He pressed his nose against her, and she gave him a peck on the lips.

"Edward, I'm pissed at you. You never told me how amazing your roommate is! Honestly."

"Sorry. But I knew you two would get together. Eventually. You're perfect for each other."

"I know, aren't we?" Alice beamed.

"Look, I should get back to Bella."

"Yeah, too late," said a voice from behind me. Bella, with only the white sheet wrapped around her, walked in, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "_Jasper_?" Her eyes widened, then narrowed when she saw his arms around Alice's waist, his goofy grin, and Alice's head on his shoulder. "So I take it Edward and I weren't the only ones to get busy last night?"

We all laughed at that.

"Come on, Bella. Get dressed, for my sake, please, and then come on in. I made omletes, and take it from Edward, I make _awesome_ omletes," Jasper said.

"It's true, you do."

"Thanks, Jasper, but I really wanted to just hang out with Edward this morning in bed... Can I take you up on that offer another time, though? Those things smell delicious."

We laughed again, and I followed the sheet-clad Bella back into her bedroom.

**All right, so was it worth the wait? You got an E/B hook up AND an A/J hook up. AND Edward and Bella said 'I love you'. I know you HATE me for not actually going into that part, but I DON'T get into sex details, this is rated T. And I wanted them to say it for the first time right before making love for the first time. Don't worry, they'll be saying it a lot more in this fic. **

**REVIEW! Next chapter, we'll take more than just a brief look at their song...I bet inspiration will come to them after this! **

**:)**


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